April 22, 2014
A consortium of investors led by sovereign-backed investment firm Fajr Capital has today signed an agreement to acquire the Dubai-headquartered oilfield services company National Petroleum Services (“NPS” or “the Company”). The deal is expected to close in Q2 of 2014.
The GCC-based consortium, which includes Arab Petroleum Investments Corporation (“APICORP”) and other regional institutional investors (the “Consortium”), has agreed to acquire NPS in a transaction valued in excess of USD 500million. Some of the current shareholders of NPS will remain as minority shareholders post transaction, including Abdul Aziz Al Dolaimi, who will continue as the Chairman of the Company.
The landmark deal is the largest announced private equity transaction in the MENA region in 2014, and marks the next stage in the growth and evolution of NPS.
With an impressive track record spanning over three decades, NPS is a leading oilfield services provider with approximately 1,300 employees operating in key MENA and ASEAN markets, including Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Iraq, Malaysia, Brunei Darussalam and North Africa. NPS’s current service offering includes: well services (i.e. coiled tubing, cementing, stimulation and nitrogen), drilling and workover services, well testing and wireline logging services.
The management team remains unchanged and will continue to be led by current CEO Adnan Ghabris, who has successfully led the Company for the last six years. The continuity of the management team will ensure the Company’s clients continue to receive high quality services.
Following recent expansion in Algeria, Oman and Turkmenistan, NPS is well-positioned to grow its geographic reach and provide tailored services and solutions to the global oil and gas industry. The Consortium will leverage their collective business resources, including industry knowledge, global networks, and specialist expertise, to support the continued growth of NPS and enhance service offering to the company’s customers.
Commenting on the transaction, Iqbal Khan, CEO of Fajr Capital said: “We are very pleased to have agreed this landmark transaction, which marks our second regional investment in recent months and strengthens Fajr Capital’s footprint across our target markets. NPS was one of the first and remains one of the leading oilfield services companies in the MENA region. Together with our partners, we are committed to working closely with the management team over the long-term to realise the company’s significant growth potential.”
Ahmad Bin Hamad Al Nuaimi, CEO of APICORP added: “APICORP’s investment in NPS is indeed a milestone towards the implementation of its strategy to diversify its investment portfolio into the oil & gas downstream sector. Since its inception in 1975, APICORP is considered the partner of choice of oil and gas and energy related companies and we look forward to working with our partners and the NPS management to achieve the company’s promising business potential.”
Abdul Aziz M. Al Dolaimi, the Chairman of NPS, commented: “NPS is one of the most promising businesses in the region, and the company is well-positioned to capture the opportunities that lie ahead. The Fajr Capital-led consortium will bring deep experience, broad expertise and strong global relationships to complement NPS’s current position as a market leader in the regional oil and gas industry.”
The CEO of NPS, Adnan Ghabris, who has more than 25 years’ international experience in the oil and gas industry, concluded: “The management and I are very excited by the enhanced opportunities this investment will bring for our company, employees and customers. We plan to continue to expand in the coming few years, both by entering new markets and diversifying our current service offering in existing markets. We look forward to partnering with our shareholders to accelerate NPS’s growth story.”
HSBC Bank Middle East and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer acted as the sell-side advisers, while the Fajr Capital-led consortium was advised by Simmons & Company and Gibson Dunn.
