Akastor ASA, an oil service investment company, has entered into a definitive agreement to sell Fjords Processing to National Oilwell Varco for a consideration of NOK 1,200 million on a debt- and cash-free basis.

Fjords is a global leader in complete process support systems for gas, oil and water, and has under Akastor's ownership, streamlined operations, expanded its footprint in key regions, and produced record financial results.

“We are proud of what the Fjords organisation has accomplished in recent years with improved operational performance and expanded business opportunities,” says Kristian Røkke, CEO of Akastor. “Fjords is performing well and we are pleased to be selling to NOV, which is committed to further growing the business globally.”

“We are thankful for the support Akastor has given us over the past few years which has put us in a position where we see exciting future opportunities for our business. We look forward to the next part of our transformation journey together with NOV, where we will be able to deliver a broader suite of products and additional value for our customers,” says Rune Fantoft, CEO of Fjords.

CEO of NOV, Clay Williams comments: “NOV is excited to acquire a high-quality, market-leading business in Fjords. We see significant potential in combining the capabilities of Fjords technology with our existing NOV platform, which includes complementary solutions and services, as well as a broad infrastructure to enable market expansion and significant cost reductions. The production and process solutions that our combined businesses offer will enable operators to continue to meet the increasing technical challenges our industry faces while reducing their marginal cost per barrel.”

The transaction will realise an accounting gain of approximately NOK 650 million to Akastor, and will be recognised in the fourth quarter results. The transaction is expected to release approximately NOK 1,150 million in cash for Akastor.

The transaction is expected to be completed in Q4 2016, pending clearance from Norwegian and Korean competition authorities.

Tags: Akastor ASA, Fjords Processing, National Oilwell Varco