Star Capital News

The German Fair Trade Commission has approved the acquisition of Hamburg shipyard Blohm+Voss GmbH by the Bremen-based, family-owned company Luerssen Maritime Beteiligungen GmbH & Co. KG, a specialty designer, manufacturer and repairer of yachts over 60 meters and military ships. The purchase agreement was signed at the end of September 2016, and now, following the official approval, formal ownership will be transferred from the previous owner, the Funds of the British private equity investor Star Capital Partners.

Family owned and Bremen based shipyard, Luerssen acquired storied shipyard Blohm+Voss in Hamburg, the company announced on Wednesday, September 28, 2016. With the acquisition of Blohm+Voss, Luerssen said it is entering into a long-term relationship to strengthen its portfolio in the repair and refit activities for yachts, naval and commercial ships as well as enhancing its naval new build activities within their corporation. The contract between Luerssen and the funds of British private equity investor…

Fred van Beers, the newly appointed CEO for Blohm+Voss, unveil details of an aggressive new investment plan in the superyacht sector. Over the next year, the company is restructuring some independent divisions under the same roof. It’s further offering lifetime warranties and monitoring equipment on all new builds. This plan has been prepared over the past few months in partnership with Star Capital and the Board of Directors. Beers will be implementing a number of noteworthy changes over the next 12 months to reinvigorate the superyacht sector of the historic Blohm + Voss shipyard. These changes are designed to ensure that the business is fully optimized and efficient in meeting the needs of the diverse marine markets in which the company operates.

Shipyard boss Dr. Herbert Aly discusses Blohm+Voss’ radical reorganization as well as the strategies to secure new orders. When I started my nautical career at Blohm+Voss at the beginning of the early 1960s, one could see on the southside of the river Elbe nine independent operating shipyards. Today only one remains: Blohm+Voss. More than 100 years experience, technical know-how and modern production technology helps to ensure the international global competitiveness of the City of Hamburg as an important site for shipbuilding.

Houston-based Forum Energy Technologies agrees to acquire Blohm + Voss Oil Tools from STAR Capital Partners Limited (STAR), a London based private equity firm. Completion of the transaction is subject to certain customary closing conditions. Further details of the transaction were not disclosed. With locations in Hamburg, Germany and Willis, Texas, Blohm + Voss Oil Tools manufactures a comprehensive range of pipe handling equipment used on offshore and onshore drilling rigs. Cris Gaut, Forum's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, commented, "Blohm + Voss Oil Tools significantly strengthens the tubular handling offering within our Drilling Technologies product line.

SKF of Sweden is to acquire German ship components provider Blohm + Voss Industries (BVI) from Star Capital Partners. Blohm + Voss Industries is a manufacturer of equipment for critical marine applications, including shaft components (seals and bearings), stabilizers, and oily water separators. The company has around 400 employees and originates from the Blohm + Voss shipyard, which was founded in 1877. SKF will pay 80 MEUR for 100% of the equity of BVI and assumes net loans/cash of 18 MEUR. The transaction is subject to relevant regulatory approvals.

It could be argued that running an efficient, safe and profitable ship repair yard is one of the most difficult of all maritime jobs. First and foremost, unpredictability – in terms of planned and actual workload, as well as the very nature of the job themselves – is a recurring theme. Maintaining experienced staff in times good and bad; keeping ahead of evolving regulations, as they pertain to the local environment and the global ship market; and weathering the inevitable influx of cut-rate competition from emerging nations are but a sampling of the issues ship repair managers face every day.

With the deal officially closed on January 31, 2012, the sale of the civilian Blohm + Voss companies – Blohm + Voss Industries, Blohm + Voss Repair and Blohm + Voss Shipyards (plus their subsidiaries) – to the UK investment company Star Capital Partners (SCP) is now complete. The purchase agreement between ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems AG and SCP for the acquisition of these companies was finalized on December 11, 2011. The new owners will continue to manage and develop the Blohm + Voss civilian business units.

According to a report from the Dow Jones Newswires, German industrial conglomerate ThyssenKrupp AG (TKA.XE) is in exclusive talks to sell large parts of its Blohm + Voss shipbuilding business to U.K. private equity fund Star Capital Partners. Source: Dow Jones Newswires