Royal Boskalis and KOTUG Merge Harbour Towage Operations
Royal Boskalis Westminster N.V. and KOTUG International B.V. have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to merge their European harbour towage operations.
The companies will establish a 50/50 joint venture for this purpose, combining the European harbour towage activities of SMIT, a Boskalis subsidiary, with the European harbour towage activities of KOTUG. This merger is the concluding step in Boskalis’ strategy aimed at establishing regional partnerships for its harbour towage activities, as was previously done through Smit Lamnalco, Keppel SMIT and most recently SAAM SMIT.
The scope of the joint venture will encompass the harbour towage operations of SMIT in the Netherlands and Belgium and the harbour towage operations of KOTUG in Germany, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom.
The joint venture will serve 11 ports in 4 countries with a fleet of more than 60 tugboats. The total combined revenue is estimated at approximately EUR 150 million (USD 186.3m).
Boskalis expects to free up nearly EUR 100 million (USD 124.2m) in cash from the proposed transaction, primarily due to the refinancing of the activities. The MoU will be implemented subject to customary conditions, such as due diligence and regulatory approval in the countries to which the joint venture pertains, and in consultation with the works councils.
