AGR, a global multi-disciplinary engineering consultancy and software provider, and ABL Group ASA, the energy and marine consultancy group, have entered into an agreement whereby ABL Group is to acquire 100 percent of the shares in AGR.
The acquisition will bolster ABL’s offering within well and reservoir consultancy, enhance the consolidated group’s position supporting operators’ digitalization and decarbonization plans, and expand ABL Group’s opex-driven offshore energy exposure.
Navigating the oil and gas industry for more than 35 years, AGR’s capabilities and software are also applied to decommissioning of offshore assets, carbon capture use and storage (CCUS), blue hydrogen, geothermal energy, and seabed minerals.
“This transaction positions AGR for growth and enables us access to ABL Group’s global network across oil and gas, maritime, renewables, and energy transition services. Our clients will benefit from having their services delivered by a solid partner with a broad international network and service offering,” says Svein Sollund, CEO of AGR. “This is a good fit for ABL Group. The acquisition gives ABL Group a strong position in well and reservoir consultancy, grows our position within digitalization and energy transition solutions, and expands our services with a resourcing offering that is already well-established in the oil and gas sector and positioned for growth within offshore wind,” says Reuben Segal, CEO of ABL Group.
Svein-Sollund, AGR
Part of ABL Group’s business strategy is to consolidate key services and leverage its global network of offices to drive growth.
Last year, ABL Group acquired Add Energy to enhance the group’s services in the opex phase of offshore energy, including asset integrity management, well and reservoir management, and associated software products.
The acquisition of AGR, which has high brownfield exposure, builds, therefore, on ABL’s previous purchase of Add Energy.
“Although Add Energy and AGR operate in the same industry space, there is currently limited overlap between the two companies. Our objective is to utilize our global office and client network to bridge the two businesses. By combining their competence and products, we will be able to offer offshore energy clients an even more comprehensive, integrated service offering. This should create value for operators, AGR and ABL Group,” says Reuben Segal.
Following the completion of the transaction, Add Energy will become part of AGR, which will continue as a stand-alone business line within ABL Group.
AGR will bring scale to ABL Group’s well and reservoir consultancy and increases the group’s exposure to the opex-driven phases of oil & gas projects. AGR’s fully commercialized software division strengthens ABL Group’s suite of software products and digitalization capabilities, adding competence and scale to support energy transition technologies and projects.
This transaction also significantly strengthens AGR’s and ABL’s offerings for CCUS projects at a time when investment in decarbonizing the hydrocarbon sector is increasing rapidly.
In addition, the acquisition will enable AGR to offer its resourcing solutions across oil and gas, renewables, and low-carbon energies at a time when talent scarcity is putting projects and deployments at risk.
“AGR is, first and foremost, a consultancy business. I am excited about the benefits that integrating AGR into a fully-fledged energy consultancy environment such as ABL Group brings to our clients and staff. AGR has a strong position within oil and gas but has, during the past couple of years, increasingly been asked by clients to support their energy transition projects. Tapping into ABL Group’s huge global competence and resource pool will allow us to provide our clients with an even more comprehensive product and service offering. We will, at the same time, significantly strengthen ABL Group’s well engineering and drilling project management, subsurface, and asset evaluations offering. It is a business combination that makes sense for all parties involved,” says Svein Sollund, CEO of AGR.
Transaction Terms
Closing of the acquisition is expected on or around 18 April 2023. The transaction is subject to the approval of the equity issue by an extraordinary general meeting in ABL Group to be held on or about 11 April 2023.
