OMERS acquires V.Ships from Exponent

Viktor Lundvall
28 July 2011

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OMERS Private Equity has acquired V.Group, better known by its brand V.Ships, a third-party manager of vessels in the cargo and leisure sectors, from Exponent Private Equity for an enterprise value of $520m.

The sale comes days after news that Exponent and Charterhouse failed to reach an agreement regarding the company. Lazard structured the sales process which is reported to have received interest from a number of parties. OMERS was attracted to the deal because it believes the company has the network, track record, value proposition and breadth of service offerings to provide long-term growth.

OMERS is looking to support a continuation of the company's existing growth strategy, which consists of organic and acquisitive growth with a focus on emerging markets.

Debt
RBC Capital Markets supported the transaction with a debt package.

Previous funding
Close Brothers Private Equity (CBPE) backed the $145m secondary buyout of V.Group in March 2003 with a $30m investment. CBPE held a 45% stake in the company while management and employees owned 45% and GE Capital and Vlasov Group the remaining 10%.

Exponent acquired the company in March 2007 from CBPE in a deal valued at $338m. The transaction gave CBPE a money multiple of 3.5x. Since the acquisition, Exponent has supported V.Group to achieve profitable growth by introducing new management and completing add-on acquisitions in Norway, Dubai and Singapore. A return on investment was not disclosed.

Company
V.Group was founded in 1984 under the name V.Ships. The company is a provider of independent ship management and marine manpower services. The business operates through six business divisions: Ship Management, Manpower, Leisure, Marine Services, Ship Supply Chain and Capital. Its portfolio of brands includes V.Ships, Marlins, SeaTec, UMC, RC Consultants, ITM and BGI.

Headquartered in St Johns on the Isle of Man, the company employs 1,800 people in offices in 34 countries across the world.

People
Mark Redman was responsible for OMERS Private Equity's investment in V.Group. Tom Sweet-Escott is co-founder of Exponent Private Equity.

Advisers
Equity – RBC (Corporate finance); Weil Gotshal & Manges (Legal).
Vendor – Lazard & Co (Corporate finance); Allen & Overy (Legal).
Management – Travers Smith (Legal).