3i to take full control of vessel provider Esvagt

Danish offshore vessel owner Esvagt will be fully owned by 3i Infrastructure, a London-listed investment business, following the purchase of a 50 per cent stake from co-investor AMP Capital for about $356 million.

Esvagt has for a while been subject to a strategic sales process undertaken by owners 3i Infrastructure and AMP Capital and the process has now been concluded.

“From a practical point, it also means we can continue developing our company “business as usual” and protect the strong Esvagt values, which has been the foundation for our success since 1981,” Peter Lytzen, Esvagt CEO, said last Friday.

3i Infrastructure has agreed to acquire the stake in Esvagt owned by its co-investor AMP Capital, which will result in 3i Infrastructure holding 100 per cent of the equity in Esvagt. This further investment is expected to be £268 million (about $355.8 million) and the completion, which is subject to certain third party consents, is expected in the first quarter of 2022.

In its half-year results announcement, 3i Infrastructure said that a strategic review of its holding in Esvagt was in progress and that as part of that review, offers had been invited. However, the company retained the options of continuing to hold its 50 per cent stake, to sell, or to offer to buy the AMP Capital stake. Binding offers for 100 per cent of the equity were received but not at a compelling price for 3i Infrastructure, and so the company elected to offer to buy the AMP Capital stake.

Esvagt is a provider of service operation vessels (SOV) for the offshore wind industry as well as of emergency rescue and response vessels (ERRV) and related services to the offshore energy industry in and around the North Sea and the Barents Sea. The company expects strong growth in the offshore wind market as many European governments and the U.S. have set ambitious offshore wind build-out targets as part of their wider net-zero emissions plans.

Richard Laing, Chair of 3i Infrastructure, commented: “Esvagt’s transition into a market leader in European offshore wind has been a major achievement. We believe that it is well-placed to benefit from continuing attractive growth prospects in the wind sector and we are delighted to be acquiring 100 per cent of the business.”