Alpha Dhabi acquires 25% stake in oil engineering company Gordon Technologies for $164m

The acquisition boosts Abu Dhabi company's global portfolio while also allowing US-based Gordon to access key oil and gas sector in the Middle East

Alpha Dhabi's acquisition of a 25 per cent stake in Gordon Technologies will help the latter access the Middle East market, which is home to players in the oil and gas industry. AFP

Alpha Dhabi Holding, a subsidiary of Abu Dhabi's International Holding Company, has acquired a 25 per cent stake in oil and gas engineering company Gordon Technologies for Dh602 million ($164m) as it continues to boost its portfolio.

The management team of Louisiana-based Gordon will remain part of the company after the transaction, which involves Alpha Dhabi acquiring its stake on a proportional basis from shareholders, Alpha Dhabi said on Wednesday in a statement to the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange, where its shares are traded.

Abu Dhabi investment company Chimera Capital acted as the sole financial adviser to Alpha Dhabi on the transaction for Gordon, which provides measurement-while-drilling technology — a technique used to gather down-hole data — to the oil and gas industry.

“This transaction reaffirms our strong commitment to growing and driving value across our portfolio through investment in innovation and technology, a core tenet of our growth strategy at Alpha Dhabi,” Hamad Al Ameri, chief executive and managing director of Alpha Dhabi, said.

“We continually look at investments in disruptive and new technologies and by partnering with a market leader such as Gordon Technologies, we aim to accelerate our growth in this space while also complementing our energy portfolio, which we continue to scale and diversify across different markets and geographies.”

The move will also allow Gordon, which is majority owned by Houston-based private equity company Pelican Energy Partners, to access the Middle East market, which is home to several major players in the oil and gas industry, giving it an opportunity to grow its portfolio.

The acquisition runs in parallel with Alpha Dhabi's long-term investment and global expansion strategy and diversify its portfolio to deliver strong investor returns.

Alpha Dhabi will support Gordon in its geographic expansion plans, particularly in the Middle East, as it looks to build on its strong performance and track record for growth.

“We look forward to working with Alpha Dhabi to catalyse our growth further and expand internationally into the Middle East market, which represents a great opportunity to generate further value,” said Terry Frith, chief executive of Gordon Technologies.

Alpha Dhabi, which was previously known as Trojan Holding, has grown into a regional conglomerate. It was listed on the ADX in June 2021, and has been on an expansion spree since then, tapping into a number of industries, including Elon Musk's SpaceX.

Alpha Dhabi's net profit more than tripled in the first nine months of 2022 to Dh6.79 billion, from Dh2.15bn a year earlier, as revenue more than doubled during the period.