SEACOR Marine & CMB announce transaction for windfarm support business

SEACOR Marine Holdings Inc. and Compagnie Maritime Belge (“CMB”) have announced that a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company entered into a binding definitive sale and purchase agreement (“SPA”) to sell Windcat Workboats Holdings Limited (“Windcat”) and its crew transfer vessel (“CTV”) business to CMB.

As consideration for the sale, at the closing of the transaction, CMB will pay SEACOR Marine £32.8 million in cash, and assume all of the approximately £20.4 million of debt outstanding under Windcat’s existing revolving credit facility (equivalent to approximately US$44.6 million and US$27.8 million, respectively, based on the USD to GBP closing exchange rate on December 17, 2020). 

Windcat is among the leading offshore wind support vessel providers in Europe, and owns and operates, directly or through its joint ventures, a fleet of 46 CTVs in the European offshore wind sector. Windcat’s CTVs are designed and built under the supervision of Windcat management, a team with more than 18 years’ experience in the industry. The existing Windcat management team will continue to lead the company after the completion of the transaction.

Windcat is headquartered in Lowestoft, United Kingdom and IJmuiden, the Netherlands and has joint ventures with two strong local partners, FRS Windcat Offshore Logistics in Germany and TSM Windcat in France. Windcat employs approximately 180 shore-based and sea-going personnel.

John Gellert, SEACOR Marine’s Chief Executive Officer, commented:

“The proceeds from this transaction will enhance our liquidity, further strengthen our position in a challenging environment, and allow us to continue developing other opportunities in our core markets, including with our hybrid battery-powered platform supply vessels that we believe have significant potential.”

Alexander Saverys, CMB’s Chief Executive Officer, further commented:

“The acquisition of Windcat fits into CMB’s strategy to diversify its business portfolio into the fast-growing offshore wind market and scale up the deployment of hydrogen ships and engines. CMB wants to grow Windcat’s business by building on its strong market-leading European platform whilst expanding into new European and non-European markets, diversifying into the owning and operation of Construction Service Operation Vessels and Service Operation Vessels (CSOVs and SOVs), and deploying hydrogen engines developed by CMB.TECH onboard the existing and newbuilding Windcat fleet. The first hydrogen-powered CTV, the Hydrocat, is expected to be operational as early as June 2021. The construction of hydrogen refuelling stations in dedicated Windcat ports will be investigated as well.”

Willem van der Wel, Managing Director of Windcat, added:

“We have been working closely together with CMB over the past two years in the development of the Hydrocat, the world’s first Hydrogen driven CTV. This important step in Windcat’s history will allow us to further develop this cooperation and make further steps in the development of the company. With the global challenges to reduce the carbon footprint, CMB and Windcat will continue the development of the fleet in order to make significant steps in providing clean fuel solutions to wind farm support vessels.”