Jones Day News

U.K. investment firm Inspirit Capital announced it has completed the carve-out of CWind, a provider of offshore wind support services, from Global Marine Group.CWind completes approximately 60,000 crew transfers annually, utilizing its fleet of crew transfer vessels (CTV), including the world’s first hybrid surface effect ship, CWind Pioneer. The company has operated in support of more than 50 U.K. and European offshore wind farms since 2010.London-based Inspirit Capital specializes…

International Marine and Industrial Applicators, LLC (IMIA), a portfolio company of an investment affiliate of J.F. Lehman & Company (JFLCO), announced it has acquired Main Industries, Inc.Headquartered in Hampton, Va., Main Industries provides preservation, scaffolding and environmental containment services to the marine vessel new construction and maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) markets. The company supports the U.S. Navy’s aircraft carrier new construction and MRO requirements (including refueling overhauls) in the Mid-Atlantic region…

J.F. Lehman & Company (JFLCO), a middle-market private equity firm said that its investment affiliate JFL-NRC-SES Partners, LLC  signed an agreement to sell its membership interests in NRC Group Holdings, LLC (NRC Group), formed earlier this year with the combination of JFLCO companies National Response Corporation (NRC) and Sprint Energy Services (Sprint) , to Hennessy Capital Acquisition Corp. III (HCAC). After the transaction is completed, NRC Group will be a wholly-owned direct subsidiary of HCAC, who will change its name to NRC Group Holdings Corp. NRC Group Holdings Corp.

Taiwan is becoming the next battleground for the world's top offshore wind developers as they seek a foothold in Asia for a technology that has been expanding fast in Europe.Taiwan announced results on Monday of its first major offshore wind farm auction that aims to add 3.8 gigawatts (GW) of capacity to its existing network of just 8 megawatts (MW).The island's offshore wind market is expected to expand to 5.5 GW by 2025, and the government aims to invest $23 billion on onshore and offshore wind projects by 2025…

The Board of Trustees for the Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Port Authority today unanimously elected Chris Ronayne as new board chair. As President and CEO of University Circle, Inc., which oversees the growth and direction of one of Ohio’s fastest growing employment district, Ronayne has led planning, development, education, marketing, police, and other shared services for the district over a decade of sustained growth. “I'm truly looking forward to leveraging the economic power of the Port of Cleveland to create more jobs for Cleveland and Northeast Ohio,” said Ronayne.

Peter Georgiopoulos’s Genco Shipping & Trading Ltd., an operator of dry-bulk cargo ships, steamed into the No. 3 berth on the Top 10 List for 2014 when it filed for chapter 11 protection on April 21, 2014, in the Southern District of New York with nearly $3 billion in assets and $1.5 billion in debt. According to Jones Day composition of the Top 10 List of public bankruptcy filings for 2014 weakness in charter rates made it difficult for the company to pay its creditors. The shipping industry has suffered from a glut of vessels after buying too many before the 2008 global recession, driving down rates and saddling companies like Genco with too much debt.

National Response Corporation (NRC), a portfolio company of J.F. Lehman & Company, announced today the completion of the acquisition of Emerald Alaska, LLC from Emerald Services, Inc. NRC is a commercial provider of United States Oil Pollution Act of 1990 regulatory compliance services as well as a global provider of specialized environmental and emergency response solutions. Headquartered in Great River, N.Y., with regional offices throughout the U.S. and internationally, NRC has more than 1,000 employees globally. Emerald Alaska is a provider of environmental and emergency response solutions to the oil and gas industry in the state of Alaska.

Affiliates of USJ-IMECO Holding Company, LLC, a portfolio company of J.F. Lehman & Company (JFLCO), announced the acquisition of Robichaux Automation and Control, Inc. (RAACI). RAACI designs, assembles and integrates electrical, control and automation systems for commercial and government vessels. The company’s core systems and product offerings include a range of proprietary ship control, alarm, monitoring, propulsion, switchboard and power management systems as well as other advanced marine technologies. The company is headquartered just outside New Orleans. USJ-IMECO is an independent provider of turnkey marine joiner, distributed and electro-mechanical systems and solutions for government and commercial customers involved in new ship construction and vessel maintenance…

National Response Corporation (NRC) announced the completion of a deal which sees U.K.-based Sureclean Limited become part of the NRC group. NRC is a global provider of diversified environmental, industrial and emergency response solutions. Headquartered in Great River, New York, with regional offices throughout the U.S. and internationally, NRC has approximately 800 employees. Operating both in the U.K and internationally, Sureclean is a provider of specialty industrial and environmental solutions to the oil and gas, petrochemical, renewables, utilities, civil engineering and construction sectors. The company is headquartered in Alness, Scotland with additional offices in the Aberdeen area and employs a permanent staff of 135.

National Response Corporation (NRC) announced the completion of the acquisition of OP-TECH Environmental Services, Inc. (OP-TECH). NRC was acquired in March 2012 by investment affiliates of J.F. Lehman & Company, a leading middle-market private equity firm focused on the defense, aerospace, and maritime sectors. Senior debt financing for the acquisition was arranged by BNP Paribas Securities Corp. (as sole lead arranger). Jones Day LLP provided legal counsel to NRC. NRC is a commercial provider of United States Oil Pollution Act of 1990 regulatory compliance and emergency response services as well as a global provider of diversified environmental, industrial and emergency response solutions. Headquartered in Great River, N.Y., with regional offices throughout the U.S.

Jones Day has advised long-standing client J.F. Lehman & Company, a mid-market private equity firm focused on the defense, aerospace, and maritime sectors, in connection with the £32 million (approximately $50 million) acquisition and related financing of the UK, Spanish, German and Australian marine distress signals business of Chemring Marine, which designs and manufactures SOLAS and MED approved products including hand flares, linethrowers, smoke-signals, manoverboards and parachute rockets from various companies within the Chemring group, including Chemring Group Plc. The financing consisted of a secured credit facility including term loans and revolving loans. In the last eight months, Jones Day has also advised J.F.

Affiliates of Drew Marine (Drew Marine) completed of the previously announced acquisition of Chemring Group PLC’s (Chemring) maritime interests for cash consideration of £32 million. Under Drew Marine's ownership, the acquired business will be named Drew Marine Signal and Safety (DMSS). DMSS is the world's leading supplier of marine distress signals including handflares, manoverboard buoys, line-throwers and other required rescue products under established brands including Pains Wessex, Comet, Aurora and Oroquieta. The Company's products are produced in Bremerhaven, Germany; Pamplona, Spain; and Lara, Australia. The business will continue to be headquartered in Hampshire, UK.

J.F. Lehman & Company acquired ACR Electronics, Inc. from Chelton Avionics, Inc., a subsidiary of Cobham plc. ACR Electronics, Inc. is a leading provider of safety products and solutions to the aviation, marine, military and commercial markets worldwide. The Company’s core products include life-saving devices such as rescue beacons, safety lights, and other safety equipment which have been sold for decades under the ACR and Artex brands. “We are very pleased to have the opportunity to invest in ACR Electronics,” said Stephen Brooks, Partner at J.F. Lehman. “ACR Electronics is a market leader in many of J.F. Lehman’s core end-markets and has a strong reputation for quality and engineering expertise across a diverse product suite with both military and civilian customers.

The Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Port Authority’s Board of Directors today elected officers to fill one-year terms, effective immediately. The Board re-elected Robert C. Smith, Chair; Marc Krantz, Vice Chair; and Anthony Moore, Secretary. Smith is entering his fifth year of service on the Board, and this marks his second term as Chair. Smith is President and CEO of Spero-Smith Investment Advisers Inc., a registered investment advisory firm. “I’m honored to again serve as Chair and look forward to a very active year as we continue to implement our ambitious strategy to spur job growth and economic vitality on our waterfronts and throughout our region,” said Smith. Krantz was appointed to the Port Board in 2009. He is the managing partner of the Kohrman Jackson & Krantz law firm.

Nicholas Tonsich and Elwood Lui were reelected as president and vice president, respectively, of the Los Angeles Board of Harbor Commissioners during the annual election of officers at an August 6 board meeting. Tonsich, a practicing attorney, is a partner at Glaser, Tonsich & Brajevich, a San Pedro-based law firm with a focus on litigation matters pertaining to environmental issues, tort defense, maritime law, employment, discrimination, real estate transactions and development, zoning enforcement and contractual disputes. He is a resident of San Pedro. Lui is a partner at Jones, Day, Reavis & Pogue, a Los Angeles law firm specializing in commercial litigation. He concentrates on both federal and state court appeals.