Boskalis Strengthens Its Offshore Cable Installation Position Through German Acquisition

Royal Boskalis Westminster N.V. (Boskalis) has reached an agreement with SPIE for the acquisition of the offshore cable installation activities and assets of Bohlen Doyen GmbH (BoDo). BoDo’s offshore cable laying business operations comprise of grid to grid and offshore substation to shore connections, which includes the installation of (nearshore) offshore cables and the connection of offshore wind farms to substations.

Representation Image – Credit: boskalis.com

BoDo, based near Wilhelmshaven, has a long-established position in the German offshore cable installation market. Its offshore activities generate an annual turnover of EUR 20-30 million. The agreed transaction does not include any goodwill and will be financed from Boskalis’ own cash flow.

The scope of the transaction includes the acquisition of the equipment, burial tools, personnel plus several smaller commercial and maintenance contracts. The most important assets are three large cable laying barges with capacities ranging from 800 to 4,000 metric tons. The technical specifications of these vessels make them ideally suited for the installation of export cables in sheltered water and the rapidly growing cable repair market. BoDo’s track record includes the cable installation on projects including BorWin 3, DolWin 3 and NordLink. As a subcontractor to Prysmian BoDo was involved in the first phase of the Ostwind project for 50Hertz. Recently Boskalis received the award for Ostwind 2 for which BoDo is well-positioned to execute the nearshore activities.

Through this acquisition, Boskalis strengthens its position in the offshore cable market forming a welcome addition following a string of recent large contract wins by Boskalis.

It is the intention to close the transaction in the first quarter 2019 subject to the satisfaction of customary conditions.

Reference: boskalis.com

Source: Maritime Shipping News