Saudi Arabia's PIF-backed company to acquire Dubai-based energy services firm

Acquisition expected to create more business opportunities in new and existing markets

The Riyadh skyline. Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund has been snapping up stakes in several companies to grow and diversify its portfolio. Getty Images

Saudi Arabia's Nesma & Partners Contracting Company, partly owned by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, has agreed to acquire Dubai-based energy services company Kent as both companies aim to build sustainable business models.

The acquisition is expected to create more business opportunities in new and existing markets, the companies said in a separate statement on Tuesday.

The companies did not disclose the value of the transaction, which is expected to be finalised by the end of the year, subject to regulatory approvals, the statement said.

"By leveraging the strengths of both companies, we are confident that we can deliver even more value to our customers and achieve our goals for growth and success," Samer Abdul Samad, president and chief executive of Nesma & Partners, said in the statement.

Although there will be change in ownership, Kent said it would not make any changes to its brand or leadership, adding it would continue to offer and develop its existing services while "investing in new innovations" and "continuing to operate in all our jurisdictions under our current Kent name and brand".

"Under the ownership of Nesma & Partners, the Kent brand and all our teams worldwide will have more opportunities to develop and grow our world-class lifecycle services to our clients," said John Gilley, chief executive of Kent.

The acquisition will create a dynamic portfolio for Nesma & Partners, which is well-positioned to take advantage of several opportunities that lie ahead.

Nesma & Partners was among four domestic contractors that the PIF bought into this year, along with ElSeif Engineering Contracting Company, AlBawani Holding Company and Almabani General Contractors Company.

The sovereign wealth fund subscribed to new shares as part of the companies' capital increases and invested $1.3 billion to acquire "significant minority stakes" as part of its wider plan to back strategic sectors central to the diversification of the kingdom's economy.

The fund subscribed to new shares – as part of the companies' capital increases – amounting to “significant minority stakes” in Nesma & Partners Contracting Company,

Established in 1981, Nesma & Partners provides services in the industrial, oil and gas, civil, infrastructure and electromechanical sectors. Its clients include Saudi Aramco, the PIF, Neom, the Diriyah Gate Development Authority and the General Authority of Civil Aviation.

The company is also part of a joint venture with Almabani General Contractors that won an infrastructure works contract for an international airport from Saudi Arabia's Red Sea Development Company, which is building a tourism project on the kingdom's Red Sea coast.

Kent, which began as a family business in Ireland in 1919, is an integrated energy services company that designs, builds and maintains assets in the industry. It is present across 34 countries and has delivered projects in about 90, according to its website.