Wilhelmsen buys stake in Reach Subsea as company acquires iSURVEY

Reach chief executive Jostein Alendal said, “We are very pleased to welcome an established industry player such as Wilhelmsen on board as a strategic partner. Wilhelmsen has been a pioneer in driving autonomous and remote marine operations. By combining our core maritime competencies, global footprints, and wide-ranging networks, we will scale up the Reach Remote project and future-proof marine subsea services through safe and sustainable solutions that will dramatically lower operational costs and the environmental footprint of operations.”

The Reach Remote concept, developed in co-operation with Kongsberg Maritime and Massterly, was launched in early 2021 with a support grant from Innovation Norway. Reach is on track to deliver its two first Reach Remote uncrewed surface vehicles (USV) in 2023.

By 2025, the company’s ambition is to provide a full portfolio of subsea services from a low-emissions, cost-effective, remote, and autonomous fleet. These USVs will serve as mobile power banks, data centres and communication modules for underwater ROVs, with the USVs operated from Massterly’s onshore control centres. Features for both real-time operator control and autonomous operations will be incorporated, as well as hybrid modes blending remote and semi-autonomous control.

Having subscribed for new shares in Reach equivalent to a 21% stake, Wilhelmsen will also be granted warrants which, if fully exercised, will potentially give Wilhelmsen a 33% ownership stake. The election committee of Reach will propose to the annual general meeting that Wilhelmsen vice president strategy and M&A Espen Gjerde is elected as a new board member of Reach. The proposal is supported by Reach’s major shareholder, North Energy.

iSURVEY has been acquired by Reach for Nkr135M (US$15M). Mr Alendal said, “With this acquisition, we are developing Reach Subsea into a larger, more robust, fully integrated company, with strengthened inhouse data management and data processing capabilities. This will enable us to take on larger subsea projects on a global scale and accelerate our expansion into emerging new industry verticals, such as offshore wind.

“We have a long-standing relationship with iSURVEY and know the two organisations are a good cultural fit, as well as complementing each other’s technology offerings and customer portfolios.”

Reach will acquire iSURVEY Holdings’ 100% interest in iSURVEY on a neutral working capital and debt basis. iSURVEY Holding is owned 72% by Norvestor VI, a fund managed by Norvestor Investment Management. The company’s management team and current and former employees hold the remaining 28%. The transaction will be presented for approval at an extraordinary general meeting at Reach which is due to be held on or about 14 March 2022.

iSURVEY founder and chief executive Øivind Røegh said, “We are excited to be joining forces with Reach, whose commercial and technical track record, and global growth trajectory in recent years is impressive. Combining our service offerings, we will create a leading global full-service provider of subsea data and solutions for all types of offshore assets, throughout the lifecycle.”

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