BGF, Blue Water Energy inject £56m into Rovop

Kenny Wastell
20 December 2017

Tweet
Facebook
LinkedIn
Google plus
Send to

BGF and energy-focused private equity firm Blue Water Energy have taken part in a ТЃ56m funding round for UK-based subsea vehicle services company Rovop.

The fresh capital will be used to increase the company's fleet of remotely operated vehicles from 16 to 24 in response to customer demand. The business also intends to create up to 80 jobs following the deal.

Publicly available documents indicate the transaction was structured as a buyout via Rovop Topco.

When BGF initially invested in Rovop in 2015 the business said it was targeting a total of 50 craft within the following three years.

Following the latest investment round, Rovop chairperson Mark Vorenkamp is to retire – he co-founded the company in 2011 with CEO Steven Gray.

Earlier this year, Blue Water Energy acquired oil- and gas-focused telecommunications and security systems company Optilan from NVM Private Equity with capital drawn from its $861m maiden vehicle. The GP held a $1.2bn final close for its second fund in May 2017.

Previous funding
BGF invested £10m in Rovop in April 2015 to support the expansion of its fleet. It has since provided two rounds of follow-on funding.

Company
Founded in 2011 and headquartered in Westhill, Aberdeenshire, Rovop is a subsea vehicle service operating in the oil and gas, offshore wind, telecommunications and power transmission sectors. The business has a headcount of around 180 across its operations in the Aberdeen area and Houston, up from 130 at the time of BGF's initial investment.

Rovop generated a turnover of £14.3m in the year ending in September 2016, according to publicly available documents, with EBITDA before exceptional items of £3.6m.

People
Blue Water Energy – Graeme Sword (partner).
BGF – Mike Sibson (investment director).
Rovop – Steven Gray (CEO).