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HOCHTIEF: New partner for construction and operation of special-purpose jack-up vessels
DEME subsidiary GeoSea takes over 50 percent of BELUGA HOCHTIEF Offshore shares
New name is HGO Infra Sea Solutions
06.07.2011 + + + HOCHTIEF has a new partner for the construction and operation of offshore special-purpose jack-up vessels: GeoSea, a company in the Belgian DEME Group, took over the 50 percent of shares in BELUGA HOCHTIEF Offshore GmbH & Co. KG with economic effect from June 1, 2011. The shares were sold to HOCHTIEF Solutions by the heavy-lift shipping company Beluga. The share acquisition is subject to approval by the relevant merger regulation authorities. After it is entered in the commercial register, the company’s name shall be HGO Infra Sea Solutions GmbH & Co. KG. Both partners have a 50 percent shareholding. The parties agreed not to disclose the purchase price. HGO Infra Sea Solutions develops, constructs, manages and charters special-purpose vessels used to build and maintain offshore wind farms and oil and gas facilities.
The new joint venture bundles the expertise of two leading providers of offshore solutions. As one of the world’s biggest construction service providers, HOCHTIEF has many years of experience in port construction, marine engineering and offshore logistics, and operates its own jack-up platforms. DEME is one of the world’s leading companies in marine dredging, marine engineering and marine environmental operations. GeoSea is DEME’s specialist subsidiary in the area of worldwide installation services for offshore structures with its own jack-up platforms. Both partners plan to extend the joint company’s service spectrum. In future, HGO Infra Sea Solutions is slated to repair, maintain and decommission offshore facilities as well.
Henner Mahlstedt, CEO of HOCHTIEF Solutions said, "The services of the two companies complement each other perfectly and make the joint company into an even more powerful player. Since there is huge demand for offshore installation equipment, we are planning the construction of further special-purpose vessels."
HGO Infra Sea Solutions is currently constructing the "Innovation I" - the most sophisticated heavy-duty jack-up lifting vessel on the offshore market. A technical innovation, this vessel with a payload of 8,000 tons and a crane capable of 1,500 tons will operate in water depths of up to 50 meters starting in mid-2012. It is ideally suited for the installation of all types of offshore foundations and is the only one of its kind in the world. The Innovation I will be used for the first time at the Global Tech I offshore wind farm. It has already been chartered long-term, including by AREVA.
Alain Bernard, CEO of the DEME Group, says: "It will be the equipment of choice for the installation of turbines of 5 to 10 MW. The Innovation I will significantly reduce the assembly and servicing times required for the latest generation of offshore wind turbines. In the oil and gas sector, the vessel is ideally suited for a wide range of operations."
Nordsee-GeoSea (DEME) and HOCHTIEF Solutions are already working together elsewhere: In 2010 the two companies founded a joint venture which delivers and erects the foundations for the German Baltic wind farm EnBW Baltic 2 and handles the logistics for the erection of the towers and turbines.
Hochtief
Solutions AG
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