North Star, a UK provider of fleet services for the offshore industry, has acquired four new service operations vessels (SOV) from Norway’s Edda Wind ASA, bringing its total fleet to 14.
North Star owner, Swiss private equity firm Partners Group, supported the transaction by investing further equity.
The new vessels will extend North Star’s operational reach across key European markets, expand the company’s client reach and add immediate access to high-specification capacity.
North Star is expected to generate run-rate earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of about GBP 100 million (USD 134.9m/EUR 115.5m), representing a more than three-fold increase in the last four years. The majority of the growth is derived from the growing SOV fleet business.
In addition, the firm operates a fleet of 37 emergency response and rescue vessels (ERRVs).
The combined SOVs and ERRVs operations provide “visible, inflation-protected cashflows from markets with high barriers to entry,” Partners Group said.
The Swiss private equity firm acquired North Star in 2022 and believes in the future prospects for the UK company. The offshore wind sector is expected to see significant multi-decade growth with installed capacity in Europe rising at an annual rate of 16% to 2035. This will increase the demand for long-term offshore operations and maintenance support services, Partners Group said.
