Response to Seafox's no intention to bid statement

RNS Number : 2554O

Gulf Marine Services PLC

28 May 2020

 

NOT FOR RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION, DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, IN WHOLE OR IN PART IN, INTO OR FROM ANY JURISDICTION WHERE TO DO SO WOULD CONSTITUTE A VIOLATION OF THE RELEVANT LAWS OF SUCH JURISDICTION

THIS ANNOUNCEMENT CONTAINS INSIDE INFORMATION

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

28 May 2020

Gulf Marine Services PLC

Response to Seafox's no intention to bid statement

The Board of Gulf Marine Services PLC ("GMS" or the "Company") notes the announcement made by Seafox International Limited ("Seafox") earlier today that it does not intend to make a firm offer for GMS. As a result of the announcement, Seafox is bound by the restrictions contained in Rule 2.8 of the City Code on Takeovers and Mergers (the "Code").

The Board of GMS is grateful for the clear and strong support it has received from the Company's shareholders, banks and other stakeholders over the last few weeks and looks forward to continuing to work with all parties on the continued successful development of GMS.

The Company remains focused on concluding the legal documentation associated with the previously announced amend and extend transaction before 30 June 2020 and will provide an update to the market in due course.

Enquiries:

GMS Tim Summers, Executive Chairman Stephen Kersley, Chief Financial Officer Tony Hunter, Company Secretary		[phone]
Evercore (Sole Financial Adviser to GMS) David Waring Edward Banks		[phone]
BofA Securities (Joint Corporate Broker to GMS) Thomas Milner Ben Winstanley		[phone]
Investec (Joint Corporate Broker to GMS) Chris Sim Henry Reast		[phone]
Brunswick (PR Adviser to GMS) Patrick Handley - UK Will Medvei - UK Jade Mamarbachi - UAE		[phone]  [phone]
Linklaters LLP has been retained as legal advisers to GMS.

PUBLICATION ON WEBSITE

In accordance with Rule 26.1 of the Code, a copy of this announcement will, subject to certain restrictions relating to persons resident in restricted jurisdictions, be available at www.gmsuae.com/offer by no later than 12 noon (London time) on the business day following the date of this announcement.  For the avoidance of doubt, the content of the website referred to above is not incorporated into and does not form part of this announcement.

FURTHER INFORMATION

Evercore Partners International LLP ("Evercore"), which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority in the UK, is acting exclusively as financial adviser to GMS and no one else in connection with the matters described in this announcement and will not be responsible to anyone other than GMS for providing the protections afforded to clients of Evercore nor for providing advice in connection with the matters referred to herein.  Neither Evercore nor any of its subsidiaries, branches or affiliates owes or accepts any duty, liability or responsibility whatsoever (whether direct or indirect, whether in contract, in tort, under statute or otherwise) to any person who is not a client of Evercore in connection with this announcement, any statement contained herein, any offer or otherwise.  Apart from the responsibilities and liabilities, if any, which may be imposed on Evercore by the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000, or the regulatory regime established thereunder, or under the regulatory regime of any jurisdiction where exclusion of liability under the relevant regulatory regime would be illegal, void or unenforceable, neither Evercore nor any of its affiliates accepts any responsibility or liability whatsoever for the contents of this announcement, and no representation, express or implied, is made by it, or purported to be made on its behalf, in relation to the contents of this announcement, including its accuracy, completeness or verification of any other statement made or purported to be made by it, or on its behalf, in connection with GMS or the matters described in this document.  To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, Evercore and its affiliates accordingly disclaim all and any responsibility or liability whether arising in tort, contract or otherwise (save as referred to above) which they might otherwise have in respect of this announcement or any statement contained herein.

Merrill Lynch International ("BofA Securities"), which is authorised by the PRA and regulated by the FCA and the PRA in the United Kingdom, is acting exclusively as corporate broker for GMS and for no one else and will not be responsible to anyone other than GMS for providing the protections afforded to its clients or for providing advice in relation to the matters referred to in this announcement. Neither BofA Securities, nor any of its affiliates, owes or accepts any duty, liability or responsibility whatsoever (whether direct or indirect, whether in contract, in tort, under statute or otherwise) to any person who is not a client of BofA Securities in connection with this announcement, any statement contained herein or otherwise.

Investec Bank plc ("Investec"), which is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated in the United Kingdom by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority, is acting exclusively for GMS and no one else in relation to the Transaction and/or other matters set out in this announcement and will not be responsible to anyone other than GMS for providing the protections afforded to the clients of Investec, or for providing advice in relation to this announcement, the contents of this announcement or any matter referred to herein. 

Neither Investec nor any of its subsidiaries, branches or affiliates owes or accepts any duty, liability or responsibility whatsoever (whether direct or indirect, whether in contract, in tort, under statute or otherwise) to any person who is not a client of Investec in connection with this announcement, any statement contained herein or otherwise.

MAR

The information contained within this announcement is considered by the Company to constitute inside information as stipulated under the Market Abuse Regulation (EU) No. 596/2014.  Upon the publication of this announcement via a Regulatory Information Service, this inside information will be considered to be in the public domain.

The person responsible for arranging for the release of this announcement on behalf of GMS is Tony Hunter, Company Secretary. 

ABOUT GMS

GMS, a company listed on the London Stock Exchange, was founded in Abu Dhabi in 1977 and has become a world-leading provider of advanced self-propelled self-elevating support vessels (SESVs).  The fleet serves the oil, gas and renewable energy industries from its offices in the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and the United Kingdom.  The Group's assets are capable of serving clients' requirements across the globe, including those in the Middle East, South East Asia, West Africa, North America, the Gulf of Mexico and Europe.

The GMS fleet of 13 SESVs is amongst the youngest in the industry, with an average age of eight years. The vessels support GMS's clients in a broad range of offshore oil and gas platform refurbishment and maintenance activities, well intervention work and offshore wind turbine maintenance work (which are opex-led activities), as well as offshore oil and gas platform installation and decommissioning and offshore wind turbine installation (which are capex-led activities).

The SESVs are categorised by size - K-Class (Small), S-Class (Mid) and E-Class (Large) - with these capable of operating in water depths of 45m to 80m depending on leg length.  The vessels are four-legged and are self-propelled, which means they do not require tugs or similar support vessels for moves between locations in the field; this makes them significantly more cost-effective and time-efficient than conventional offshore support vessels without self-propulsion. They have a large deck space, crane capacity and accommodation facilities (for up to 300 people) that can be adapted to the requirements of the Group's clients.

The Company's Legal Entity Identifier is 213800IGS2QE89SAJF77.

 

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