Kent completes acquisition of SNC-Lavalin oil & gas division, closes new fundraising to  support growth cycle

Kent (or the “Company”), a leading international integrated energy services partner formerly known as Kentech, provides the following updates:

• Completes the acquisition of the majority of SNC-Lavalin’s oil and gas division, with a minority portion to follow at a later date. The Company now harnesses the strength of leading players in the energy services sector: Kentech; and the acquired businesses, which consist of legacy SNC-Lavalin oil and gas, the Kentz business, and the oil & gas capabilities (including offshore wind, hydrogen, CCUS, and low carbon solutions) of the former Atkins business.
• Change of name to Kent as part of a major rebrand.
• Issued $65 million in an over-subscribed bond, alongside additional financial support from its majority shareholder, Bluewater, to accelerate growth strategy, fund working capital and to fund the acquisition.
• The combined business has secured in excess of $500 million in new contractual awards across all our regions and service offerings year-to-date.
• John Gilley, previously chief executive officer of Kentech, has been confirmed Kent’s CEO and the Company’s senior leadership is composed from a blend of executives from both organisations.

John Gilley, Chief Executive Officer, Kent, said:

“Following the acquisition of the SNC-Lavalin Oil and Gas division, we have become a leading player with international reach and full-service capability for energy, chemicals, renewables and low carbon industries. We are now fully equipped to meet the most challenging of technical projects and are ready to support clients in their energy transition ambitions as the world moves towards a low-carbon economy.

“The investments we have already made and the new ones we are making give us an enormous advantage, allowing us to undertake complex technical projects to support the needs of our clients across the full energy spectrum. The expansion of our geographical reach into the Americas, Europe, the Caspian, the Middle East and Africa, give us truly global reach, allowing us to follow our clients wherever they may go and cater to their evolving needs.

“Furthermore, the combination has made Kent home to 10,000 professionals, among the energy industry’s brightest and most innovative minds, who are working around the clock to find solutions to our clients’ most challenging requirements.”

Kent completes acquisition

Kent completes the acquisition of the majority of SNC-Lavalin’s oil and gas division, with a minority portion to follow receipt of final regulatory approvals at a later date. Kent is now a leading international integrated energy services partner. The combination gives the Company an expanded specialist talent pool, geographical reach and a robust balance sheet to compete for complex and technical projects. It makes Kent fully active in helping traditional upstream, midstream and downstream industries, and enables it to design, build and maintain across four main services: engineering and consulting; projects; completions, commissioning and start-up; and operations and maintenance.

The Company’s blue-chip client base comprises IOCs, NOCs and independent energy and chemical companies operating across the Americas, Europe and the Caspian, the Middle East & Africa and Asia-Pacific.

It currently has over 80 active projects across 24 countries. It is one of the few companies with sufficient scale, depth of services offering and global reach to take on relevant projects.

John Gilley, previously chief executive officer of Kentech, has become Kent’s CEO and the Company’s senior leadership is composed from a blend of executives from both organisations. Mr Gilley has been with Kentech since 2001 and its CEO since April 2020. He has been tasked with growing Kent’s specialist offerings and leading the company’s diverse talent base of employees, spread across 84 nationalities around the world.

Energy transition mix

As part of the acquisition Kent has gained a strong foothold in the energy transition space via its acquisition of the oil & gas capabilities (including offshore wind, hydrogen, CCUS, and low carbon solutions) of the former Atkins business. Kent aims to expand the energy transition mix within the overall business alongside its clients’ transition.

John Kent, Chief Energy Transition Officer, Kent, commented:

“We have gathered some of the brightest minds in the energy transition business to help accelerate the world to a cleaner future. Harnessing the talent of our team we are partnering with our clients to deliver their ambitious plans over the coming decade to deliver the transition in a sustainable way.”

Fundraising and project wins

Kent successfully completed a senior secured private bond placement totalling $65 million. The proceeds will be used to fund the acquisition of the SNC oil & gas business and provide headroom for working capital. As part of the acquisition, Bluewater has committed to a further capital injection, signalling strong shareholder commitment.

The combined business will also deliver in excess of $500 million in new contractual awards secured across all our regions and service offerings. Furthermore, these wins provide Kent with substantial growth visibility and allows us to focus on new opportunities going into the second half of the year as well as providing a major boost to our current backlog.

Ben Jones, Chief Financial Officer, Kent, added:

“This announcement marks an important milestone in our corporate history. The successful fundraise and acquisition will enable us to substantially increase our global footprint and to take on larger, more complex projects. The fundraise also demonstrates the strength of investor interest and confidence in Kent and its long-term value proposition. I would like to welcome all our new investors and thank our existing shareholder, Bluewater, for their ongoing support and commitment to our growth strategy.”

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