Global oil and gas transactions review 2012
Oilfield services segment shows resilience
Inside
Transaction levels remained buoyant, with 212 oilfield services deals announced, compared with 194 in 2011, based on IHS Herold data.
The average disclosed deal value fell from US$424m to US$233m, but this is partly due to some very large deals in 2011.
The themes that characterized 2012 include:
- A series of acquisitions by US companies overseas
- A focus on acquiring new technologies, particularly for deepwater applications
- Continued interest in acquiring businesses that give buyers rapid entries to hard-to-access growth markets?
Valuations climbed in 2012, thanks to a stable oil price, strong current trading and healthy growth prospects for companies, and improved financing options. While the multiples achieved for deals is not back at the highs of 2007–08, it is possible to point to a number of transactions where a premium price was realized.
Top 10 transactions in 2012 based on disclosed value
Top 10 transactions in 2012 based on disclosed value
| Announced date | Buyers | Target | Sellers | Nature of asset | Value |
| 5 Nov 12 | SapuraKencana | Tender rig businesses of | Seadrill Limited | MOU to integrate both companies' tender rig businesses | 2,900 |
| 9 Aug 12 | National Oilwell | Robbins & Myers | Listed business | Supplier of application-critical equipmentand systems | 2,330 |
| 26 Nov 12 | Royal Boskalis | Dockwise Ltd. | Listed business | Marine services provider of logistics management oflarge and heavy structures (under negotiation; valueof initial offer) | 1,594 |
| 24 Sep 12 | Compagnie | Fugro Geoscience Division | Fugro N.V. | Fugro's Geoscience Division, excluding existingmulti-client library and nodes businesses | 1,557 |
| 18 Sep 12 | Waste Connections, | R360 Environmental | Blue Sage Capital | “US-based oilfield environmentalsolutions company” | 1,300 |
| 10 Sep 12 | Shelf Drilling | 38 shallow water drilling | Transocean Ltd. | 38 shallow water drilling rigs | 1,050 |
| 21 Feb 12 | URS Corporation | Flint Energy Services Ltd. | Listed business | Provider of construction services, with a focus onthe oil, oil sands and gas producing regions ofWestern Canada and in the Southwest, Appalachianand Rocky Mountain regions of the US | 1,005 |
| 11 Jun 12 | Apax Partners | Paradigm Ltd. | Fox Paine & Company, LLC | Independent software vendor providing solutions forseismic processing and imaging, interpretation,modeling to reservoir characterization, and wellplanning and drilling | 1,000 |
| 11 Apr 12 | National Oilwell | Wilson International Inc. | Schlumberger Ltd | Distributor of pipes, valves and fittings | 906 |
| 3 Feb 12 | National Oilwell | NKT Flexibles I/S | NKT Holding A/S;Subsea | Designer and manufacturer of flexible pipe productsand systems for offshore applications | 670 |
Source: IHS Herold Inc.
×Three of the year’s biggest deals involved private equity buyers — an investor category notable by its absence in recent years.
In mature markets, private equity’s renewed interest in oil and gas has been prompted mainly by a search for growth that is absent from many industries outside of oil and gas, as well as confidence over medium- and long-term fundamentals in the sector.
The changing demands of the industry, such as access to NOC clients in fast-growth markets, or new technologies to service burgeoning unconventional production, mean that ambitious players in oilfield services will continue to have M&A, JVs and business combinations high on their agenda for some time to come.