DDW to buy Labroy

Dubai Drydocks World (DDW) is making a voluntary conditional cash offer to acquire Singapore’s Labroy Marine Ltd for S$2.37 billion ($1.63 billion) in a further sign of the booming Gulf emirate’s plan to aggressively expand its global holdings. DDW has received irrevocable undertakings from Labroy’s substantial shareholders to accept the offer.

Labroy is a marine construction and engineering group with core businesses in shipbuilding, ship repair, offshore rig construction and also charters offshore support vessels to the oil and gas industry. Labroy has two full-service shipyards in Batam, Indonesia, and a large and diversified fleet of vessels.

The core strengths of Labroy are similar to those of Drydocks World, namely ship repair, ship building and conversions and, in addition, Labroy is also engaged in construction of offshore rigs for use in the global oil and gas industry where demand for rigs and vessels required to drill offshore oilfields has increased in recent years amid soaring crude oil prices.

Dubai World’s chairman Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayen said the acquisition of Labroy marked yet another milestone for Drydocks World in consolidating its position in the maritime industry worldwide. ???The acquisition of Labroy is integral to the Dubai World group’s diversified strategic investment plans in Asia where several Asian states have experienced remarkable growth,?? he said in the statement.

In May, Drydocks World made its foray into Singapore when it announced its first major overseas acquisition by making a voluntary conditional cash offer for Singapore’s Pan United Marine Ltd.