Mermaid Offshore Services Ltd. ("MOS"), a 99.99% owned subsidiary of Mermaid Maritime Public Company Limited ("Mermaid"), which in turn is a subsidiary of Thoresen Thai Agencies Public Company Limited ("TTA"), has entered into a Share Sale Agreement with Seascape Pacific Limited ("Seascape Pacific"), the sole existing shareholder of Seascape Surveys Pte. Ltd. ("Seascape Surveys") to acquire an 80% shareholding in Seascape Surveys in Singapore.
M.L. Chandchutha Chandratat, Managing Director of TTA, revealed that, "Seascape Surveys is currently MOS's largest sub-contractor providing hydrographic survey and positioning services, primarily to the offshore oil and gas industry in the South East region. Hydrographic surveys use various data gathering methods to describe the seabed. One of the largest uses of hydrograhic surveys is the description of offshore oilfields from their initial design phase to regular inspection of mature sub-sea infrastructure. Work is conducted with echo soundings and other electronic sensor equipment. Seascape Surveys supports exploration, inspection, construction, and production activities.
The strategic acquisition strengthens the business potential of MOS allowing the integration of assets and skilled personnel in the industry, and to enable MOS to provide a comprehensive range of high-quality sub-sea engineering services."
The payments for the share acquisition are divided in four installments. The payment of the 1st and 2nd installments worth USD 5,360,000, to be paid within February 2008, will be funded through an increase in the issued share capital of MOS, which was fully subscribed by Mermaid out of the proceeds received from the recent initial public offering of the shares of Mermaid on the Singapore Stock Exchange. The 3rd and 4th payments will be paid in 2009 and 2011 based on the EBIDA of Seascape.
Mermaid, a subsidiary of TTA, mobilized funds from the Singapore Stock Exchange in October 2007 to expand the sub-sea engineering and drilling businesses. MOS, a subsidiary of Mermaid, currently operates a fleet of six vessels, four of which are owned by MOS and two of which are chartered-in vessels, to provide sub-sea engineering services in the offshore oil and gas industry.
TTA is a leader in the dry bulk shipping industry, providing liner and charter services, and is a major player in Southeast Asian offshore services through Mermaid. TTA is amongst the top 50 companies listed on the Stock Exchange of Thailand with high liquidity.