KKR leads buyout of Acteon from First Reserve

Anneken Tappe
01 October 2012

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KKR and White Deer Energy have acquired a 52% stake in British oil and gas exploration services provider Acteon Group from First Reserve Corporation.

Acteon's management will continue to hold a stake in the business. The deal values the company at around £800-900m including debt, according to reports.

As the transaction is still subject to regulatory approval, it is expected to close by the end of Q4 2012.

First Reserve bought a 52% stake in Acteon for £70m from Lime Rock Partners in 2006. RBS provided debt for the transaction. In 2006, Acteon employed 600 staff and forecasted an annual turnover of $240m.

Company
Acteon is a service provider in the upstream oil and gas exploration sector. Founded in 1989, the company is headquartered in Norwich and employs 1,900 people. It also operates facilities in Brazil, Singapore, United Arab Emirates, Malaysia, China, the UK, the US and Germany. The company's reported revenue was £381.38m in 2011.

The company wholly owns 2H Offshore, Aquatic, CAPE Group, Claxton, Conductor Installation Services (CIS), Fluke Eugenharia, InterAct, InterMoor, Large Diameter Drilling (LDD), MENCK GmbH, Mirage Machines, NCS Survey, Offshore Installation Services (OIS), Pulse Structural Monitoring, Seatronics, Subsea Riser Products (SRP) and TEAM Energy Resources.

People
Director Josselin de Roquemaurel led the deal on behalf of KKR. Managing directors Will Honeybourne and Jeff Quake represented First Reserve in the divestment. Acteon's executive management will stay in place.

Advisers
Equity – HSBC, Muge Ponte, Barry Wingate (Corporate finance).
Company & Vendor – JP Morgan Cazenove (Corporate finance); Simmons & Company (M&A).