Tanker Liberty at sea trials

Seacor Buys SEA-Vista Stake from JV Partner

Marine services company Seacor Holdings has purchased a 49% interest in the SEA-Vista joint venture that operates nine petroleum and chemical tankers under the Seabulk name.

Image Courtesy: General Dynamics NASSCO

The company has, through a subsidiary, purchased the interest that had been owned by an affiliate of Avista Capital Partners at a price of USD 106 million in cash and 1,500,000 shares of the company’s common stock.

In connection with the purchase, the parties entered into a registration rights agreement that grants the holders of the consideration shares certain demand and piggyback registration rights and a lock-up deal that contains restrictions on the ability of the seller to dispose of shares for certain periods of time and imposes certain standstill obligations on the seller.

“We expect this transaction to be accretive to Seacor’s earnings. We acquired a substantial backlog of contracted revenues and stable cash flows and increased ownership in SEA-Vista’s differentiated fleet of assets,” Eric Fabrikant, Chief Operating Officer of Seacor Holdings, said.