Shuaa buys Abu Dhabi’s Allianz Marine to create largest regional OSV portfolio

Company will have a fleet of 152 offshore support vessels, the fourth largest in the world

Dubai investment bank Shuaa manages $14 billion in assets. Pawan Singh / The National

Dubai investment bank Shuaa Capital has bought Abu Dhabi-based offshore support vessels (OSVs) provider Allianz Marine and Logistics Services, which will create the Middle East's largest portfolio and the fourth biggest fleet in the world.

The transaction was carried out using Shuaa's managed funds and is one of the largest merger and acquisition deals in the maritime offshore sector in the Middle East, the company said on Wednesday in a statement to the Dubai Financial Market, where its shares are traded.

Shuaa, which manages $14 billion in assets, will have a fleet of 152 OSVs as a result of the deal. The total value of the deal was not provided.

“Shuaa strongly believes that the offshore industry will continue to grow, and by creating a leading player in a strategically important segment of the region’s offshore petroleum industry, we are well positioned to capitalise on this trend,” said Ajit Joshi, managing director and head of public and private markets at Shuaa.

Allianz owns about 117 offshore support vessels in the Middle East, comprising a combination of platform supply vessels, anchor handling tug supply vessels, crew boats, accommodation barges, and flat barges, among others.

It provides services including vessel chartering, port logistics, and crew services to top international and national oil companies and offshore construction contractors.

This is the second deal for Shuaa in the OSV sector following the acquisition of Dubai-based Stanford Marine Group about two years ago.

“Shuaa expects to derive significant revenue and cost synergies and economies of scale on an annual basis from the combination of two of the leading OSV operators in the region,” it said.

The value of mergers and acquisitions in the Mena region surged 57 per cent to reach $109.1bn last year. The total number of deals also jumped 40 per cent annually to reach 1,141, the highest annual total recorded since 1980, a report from Refinitiv found.