Alantra advised Nord Kapital and Habu Holding on the sale of The Nobu Group to Tubacex and Senaat

Feb 2019

Sell-side advisory

Alantra has advised the Norwegian investment groups Nord Kapital and Habu Holding on the sale of the Dubai-based Nobu Group to Tubacex and Senaat General Holding Corp. The transaction is expected to close in March 2019.

Since its establishment in the Jebel Ali Free Zone in Dubai in 2006, Nobu’s subsidiary NTS has grown rapidly to become the leading provider of precision component repair and manufacturing services to the main oilfield services groups in the region. The addition of NTS Saudi in 2012 in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the combination with Promet in 2013 in Norway has made it a critical partner to Baker Hughes, Schlumberger, Halliburton, Weatherford, Emerson, Benestad and other leading oilfield equipment and services groups. Nobu’s skills in repair of logging/measuring-while-drilling (LWD/MWD) tools and manufacture of custom components in exotic, difficult-to-machine materials are essential for its customers to maintain rapid turn-around of critical tooling for oilfield drilling and production operations on the Arabian Peninsula and the Norwegian Continental Shelf. With over 200 employees and well-invested facilities and equipment, Nobu’s capabilities are unmatched in these regions.

“We are proud of our track-record of continuous growth, even through the years of the oil price crisis, and the close customer relationships that we have developed,” commented Paul McMillan, CEO of The Nobu Group. “Our focus has been in providing precision capabilities right in the heart of major oil producing regions, but we are increasingly also taking on repair work for tools from outside the region and manufacturing components as part of a global supply chain. Although our unique local presence continues to be a major advantage for our customers, the highly developed skills of our operators are world-class, allowing us to also win major projects independent of location.”

According to partner Anders Høifødt, Nord Kapital “is pleased to have arrived at a successful exit of the business to a buyer with a clear vision for further developing Nobu by leveraging its unique skills and organization with their own strengths in the Oil & Gas sector and strategic plans to create a leader in the region across a wider range of machining services. Alantra has provided invaluable support in this highly complex cross-border transaction.”

“We have a long and successful track-record of doing business in the region going back to 1992,” added Eimund Sletten, the CEO of Habu Holding. “The Middle East can be a difficult place to start a greenfield operation, but our experience there was a key factor in the success of NTS establishing cost-effective precision machining activities, first in the UAE and then in Saudi Arabia. In this transaction we were impressed with Tubacex and Senaat’s approach and plans for the companies and pleased to be able to maintain a continuing interest in the business.”