Lamprell sale to investors one step closer

Lamprell takeover one step closer as investor consortium makes £39m takeover offer unconditional

  • Blofeld and Al Gihaz Holding already own 45% of Lamprell 
  • Their 9p per share offer, valuing Lamprell at around £39m, is now unconditional
  • Lamprell sharesholders have until 21 October to accept the offer

The sale of Lamprell to an investor consortium has come one step closer after the group made its £39million offer to buy the struggling oil and gas services firm unconditional.

Blofeld and Al Gihaz Holding, which together already own a 45 per cent stake in Lamprell, had made a formal 9p offer in July. 

Today, the two said around 5 per cent of other shareholders had backed their bid, resulting in the offer becoming unconditional. 

London-listed Lamprell shares rose 8 per cent to 8.66p in morning trade on Friday. 

Energy firm: Lamprell provides equipment like jackup rigs and wind turbine foundations

Lamprell sharesholders have until 21 October to accept the offer by the consortium, the firm said, as it urged investors to back the bid resulting in the company to be taken private. 

‘Lamprell shareholders are strongly encouraged to accept the offer,’ the company said.

It added: ‘Delisting of the Lamprell shares and the re-registration of Lamprell as a private limited company would significantly reduce the liquidity and marketability of any Lamprell shares’. 

It went on: ‘Any remaining Lamprell shareholders would become minority shareholders in a majority controlled private limited company and may therefore be unable to sell their Lamprell shares. 

‘There can be no certainty that Lamprell would pay any further dividends or other distributions or that such minority Lamprell shareholders would again be offered the opportunity to sell their Lamprell shares on terms which are equivalent to or no less advantageous than those under the offer.

Lamprell, which makes oil rigs and foundations for wind turbines, started considering a sale in June as it has been struggling under a pile of debt and missed a $26million loan facility repayment. 

Pre-tax losses for 2021 widened to $60million, from $53.3million the year before.

The coronavirus pandemic contributed to major financial difficulty for the business as travel restrictions led to a downturn in oil and gas prices, and slashed demand for firms involved in the energy service industry.

Yet even as energy prices have rebounded, the London-listed group’s problems have continued to mount, with supply chain problems and worker shortages leading to costs increasing, and it has struggled to gain much-needed financing.

In April, it signed an early stage deal to fabricate 200 turbines for floating wind farms to be installed west of Shetland.

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