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Dilution was guaranteed by at least 20% if warrants were issued, with no reduction in debt through an equity raise. So that is the benchmark, and I was hoping they announced something which would be better than this. Nerve-racking indeed!

Would have thought they announced something by now. I don't see why banks should not call in the loan as part of their negotiation strategy . Let's hope the board knows what they are doing. So far they seem to be SF proxies rubber stamping some (unknown) process run by SF in the background, and they are completely at the mercy of SF&Co. - i.e. they are not independent and could be voted out in a jiffy. I am happy to be proven wrong, and good luck to all.

Here it is - https://otp.tools.investis.com/clients/uk/gulf_marine_services/rns/regulatory-story.aspx?cid=795&newsid=1395869
Check out Appendix A

Playing the devil's advocate here. Too early to call this RNS as a display of the current board's noble intentions. If anything, the work on this tender must have been started months ago when the previous board was in place. To judge the current board's alignment with SF, we need to see the deal they strike with the banks, and how they resolve the capital raise. I don't see an announcement yet, and they are driving this to the edge so far.

@gruffj - good point, and i would like to think so too. But if there is an administration, it won't be the first time happening in the O&G offshore vessel sector or in the region.

This is the drip feed type news which won't have any impact on the price whatsoever. They need to clear the overhang from the banks for this stock to respond to operational RNS like today.

Let's hope so AA....I am waiting for this board to impress the minority shareholders though I wonder what they can do different that the previous board could not do. If banks are willing to do a better deal because of Emirati board members, that is a moral hazard as well.

Guess people getting bored and ditching this.....better opportunities elsewhere i suppose than this O&G play although this could be a multibagger in the medium term if the new board doesn't screw up things for SeaFox/Man Capital to takeover on the cheap

Nothing more on the ADNOC/Zakher Marine deal either - obviously not expecting much since those would be in the private domain. Let's hope for an announcement before the year end or before the banks decide to call in the loans, whichever comes first

...

Good volumes today though

This week is clearly not the week it seems....

Would be nice to have few bidders come in ASAP before SF screws up things with the blessing of their dummy board....makes sense for Adnoc to have a unit to do this. Bahri which is owned by Aramco also makes sense. In fact, if the board had tried to sell the company earlier, would have been better - dont know why they never pursued that route. Perhaps that was the plan as part of the capital raise....

Look who is buying Zakher Marine

Yes, I had always thought that an outright bid may not be Option 1; wasn't too sure about SF balance sheet strength, although the 22p rounded out to a nice USD 100m.

But its not that much of a stretch to do a deal - here is the math:
1. Initial bid budget - 10p x 350m x 87% = GBP 30m. This would have been the initial outlay. I believe there were ready to deal with the bank at that stage with the change of control. Perhaps less willing since the board signed that agreement in June
2. Acquired an estimated 8% at 10p = GBP 3.0m
3. Acquired an estimated 9% at 22p = GBP 7.0m

Means they still have GBP 20m remaining from their initial budget. This gets them an additional 26% at a 22p/share bid.
To acquire 50% at 22p, they need GBP 39m. (assuming Mazroui and Horizon join for the ride)
To acquire 80% at 22p, they need GBP 62m. (buying out everyone)
Alternately, a new partner would need GBP 34m to buy the remaining 44% if SF does not intend to spend more than their initial budget. In all cases, the bank debt is a constant, and I am sure they had a plan on that before they tried the bid.
As an M&A banker, I will let you be creative on how to construct the deal, but its not a stretch if you are creative

In the case of a capital increase, multiple options again. As long as SF don't under write and squeeze out minority shareholders. Obviously, an equity raise isn't great (unless they can do so at a premium)

Also to be seen what value, if any, the Emirati board brings to the table. Can they source more deals with the local oil cos and ramp up utilization? This is a low hanging fruit to optimize, and banks would be more comfortable with this scenario and we can limp past the finish line with no capital raise or a smaller capital raise. All are value accretive to equityholders!

As much as i welcome it, making bid now makes it so easy on minority shareholders. With the board fully under the control of the 50% holders (SF, Mazroui, Horizon), there is no rush to make a bid unless SF have agreed that with Mazroui and Horizon. As long as they don't destroy value, should stay put. Nevertheless, with the bank deadline looming, there is guaranteed newsflow before the end of the year.

@AA2020 good to see you are still here!
Wouldn't mind the offer, and a better deal/win win would be a capital raise at premium!

Interestingly only SF, Mazroui and Horizon voted for him, i.e. 49% of shareholding. The last general meeting to elect the new board had received the support of 60% of shareholding.

Heikal is in - lets see if he works his magic solely for his masters at SF or for everyone. This is a guy who was in trouble with the Egypt regulators few years ago; hopefully he has some sense of corporate governance having been the CEO of an investment bank there

@captnemo - wouldnt it be great if they bid 22p before christmas!!

Just hoping they dont destroy value for the remaining 40pct shareholders since SF(30pct)
and Mazroui+Horizon+Buddies (30pct) = 60pct now. Another 10pct is with Castro, who was represented by recently ousted Mo Bissiso. I would think they managed to convince MHB to vote with them - is that because a bid was promised or some other plan was hatched. SF can't make a bid before 28 Nov - they can make a bid now with new boards approval but that might show collusion. New board by the way is comprised of guys from oil and gas in Abu Dhabi - so could translate to significant value creation if they ramp up utilization.

Also you are guaranteed some action in next few months as there is also the bank to deal with, who have given a 31 Dec deadline to raise equity or issue warrants. New board is trying to re engage with the banks - great move would be if they can convince the banks to take some haircut

7 days to getting SF's Heikal on the board
10 days for the no-bid period to end