GMMOS Acquires Funds for OSV Sector

Abraaj Capital and Waha Capital backed Gulf Marine Maintenance and Offshore Service Company (GMMOS), an United Arab Emirates based provider of marine services to the offshore oil & gas industry, has secured a $100m term loan facility from Standard Chartered Bank, Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank, Credit Suisse and Deutsche Bank to refinance existing debt and fund acquisitions in the offshore supply vessel (OSV) sector, with a focus on the GCC and South East Asia markets.

The acquisitions are expected to lead to a significant increase in Group profitability and asset base, with the Group's current fleet increasing from 28 OSVs to 34 OSVs by the end of 2009. A number of the new vessels to be acquired operate on a term charter basis in South East Asia, supplementing the group's current activities in the GCC and India and further expanding the Group's client base. As a result of the acquisitions, GMMOS Group fleet age is estimated to be well below the average age in the sector.
The acquisitions are consistent with the shareholders' strategy to expand and enhance the GMMOS offshore OSV fleet and chartering capabilities increasing its scale and transforming GMMOS into one of the largest fleet owner operators in the MENASA region.