James Fisher and Sons (JFS), a UK-based offshore engineering services company, has acquired Murjan Al-Sharq Marine Contracting (MSMC) for an undisclosed amount in a move to further expand its capabilities in the Middle East.
Image: Arabian offshore contractor Murjan acquired by James Fisher. Photo: courtesy of James Fisher and Sons plc.
The acquisition will bring the vast local expertise of the Saudi Arabia-based offshore services company to James Fisher.
The UK firm said that acquisition, in particular, will add strategically important nearshore marine construction and maintenance capabilities. These are supported by new, high quality vessels and equipment from the Saudi Arabian company and its own existing shallow water fleet, said James Fisher.
MSMC is claimed to have a 10-year track record of undertaking projects for Saudi Aramco.
For the Saudi Arabian company, the transaction will give it strength and stability to sustain its current growth and enable it to gain a larger market share.
MSMC vice president Chris Clark said: “The company is well positioned now, having recently deployed new marine assets from Damen shipyards for existing and upcoming projects. We will be performing marine services with the new fleet under Saudi flag to support Saudi Aramco and Vision 2030.
“James Fisher has a very good track record in the Middle East and the merger means that together, we can build on the last 10 years of development from MCSC to deliver well planned, multi-disciplined marine solutions to our clients.”
The acquisition follows the announcement of multi-million dollar contract awards in November 2018 to James Fisher’s Subtech Group with a major oil and gas contractor, to support various offshore and subsea projects in the Middle East.
James Fisher Middle East regional director Paul Whiley said: “This acquisition by JFS solidifies our expansion into the promising Saudi offshore sector. We have now combined our existing offshore capabilities with the nearshore strengths of MCSC to offer a truly unique range of services that will be capable of delivering complete project scopes to the main EPCs.
“The end result is cost and time efficiencies for our clients, who are now getting a single interface for complete project support.”