AKVA sells off stake in marine services company

The sale of the 21.55% ownership is expected to raise NOK 140m (£10.1m) which AKVA said will free up capital for continued development of AKVA’s core business segments. The closing of the transaction is expected to take place sometime this month.

The buyer for AKVA’s shares in Abyss is private equity firm Arcus Infrastructure Partners LLP. AKVA said the sale will create a positive accounting gain.

AKVA Marine Services merged with Abyss Group in August 2021, in a deal that also saw an injection of 100m NOK (£7.2m) of equity funding into Abyss by Norwegian investor Icon Capital.

Abyss Group is one of Norway’s leading service boat companies for the aquaculture industry. It operates a fleet of boats ranging in size from 15-metre workboats to 25-metre vessels.

The company was the original developer for Ocein’s Stealth Cleaner net cleaning system which uses a remotely operated vehicle (ROV), but Ocein was not part of the merger deal with AKVA Marine Services. Abyss continues to operate a fleet of underwater ROVs. It also offers diving services and equipment for inspection and repairs.

Abyss also provides services to the energy sector as well as general marine contracting.

Arcus Infrastructure Partners Arcus is an independent infrastructure fund manager with a focus on the European mid-market, with around €9bn (£7.6bn) in assets under management.

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