Swire Pacific, through subsidiary Banyan Overseas, has entered into a sale and purchase agreement with US-based company Tidewater for the sale of a 100 per cent interest in Swire Pacific Offshore Holdings at a consideration of approximately US$190 million.
The consideration for the transaction will be settled partly in cash and partly in the form of warrants issued by Tidewater, which will entitle the Swire Group to purchase 8.1 million shares of common stock of Tidewater at a nominal price. Completion of the transaction is subject to satisfaction of conditions precedent set out in the definitive agreements.
Established in 1975, Swire Pacific Offshore is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Swire Pacific. Headquartered in Singapore, Swire Pacific Offshore owns and operates a fleet of specialist offshore support vessels (OSVs) servicing the energy industry in major offshore production and exploration regions.
Swire Pacific Offshore's fleet of OSVs will be merged with that of Tidewater.
After the transaction, and the earlier sale of Hongkong United Dockyards (HUD), Swire Pacific will no longer operate any marine services business. The sale is in line with Swire Pacific's strategy of reducing exposure to non-core assets and recycling capital to focus on core businesses that the group believes have strong growth opportunities in Greater China and South East Asia – including property, beverages, aviation and more recently, investments in the healthcare sector.
