Ashtead Technology Regulatory News (AT.)

30 November 2023

Ashtead Technology Holdings plc

("Ashtead Technology" or the "Group")

Acquisition of ACE Winches

Ashtead Technology acquires ACE Winches

Ashtead Technology Holdings plc (AIM: AT.), a leading subsea equipment rental and solutions provider for the global offshore energy sector, is pleased to announce the acquisition of the entire share capital of Rathmay Limited, the parent company of ACE Winches, from its founders Alfie and Valerie Cheyne, for a total cash consideration of £53.5m (on a cash and debt free basis) (the "Transaction").

The Transaction will be funded through drawing on the Group's revolving credit facility and is expected to be materially earnings enhancing in FY2024 and beyond, with ROIC materially ahead of the Group's weighted average cost of capital in year one.

About ACE Winches

Established in 1992, UK headquartered ACE Winches is a market-leader in the design, assembly and rental of lifting, pulling and deployment solutions. The company's core offering supports the installation, inspection, maintenance & repair and decommissioning of offshore energy infrastructure which is highly complementary to Ashtead Technology's existing equipment and services portfolio.

Through a combination of its comprehensive rental fleet and 31 years of proven engineering experience and expertise, ACE Winches has built up an unrivalled reputation amongst its traditional oil and gas customers and has more recently seen success in expanding into the offshore renewables market. The company's in-house designed and assembled equipment rental fleet is one of the most comprehensive and diverse ranges of back deck machinery in the industry and is designed to deliver reliable, fully integrated solutions to address all complex lifting, pulling and deployment challenges.

With nearly 80 per cent. of ACE Winches' revenue generated outside of the UK, supported by operations in Norway and sales offices in the UAE and USA, the acquisition offers a significant opportunity for Ashtead Technology to further expand its global offering across its existing international footprint. ACE Winches is Ashtead Technology's eighth acquisition in the last six years and follows the Group's acquisitions of WeSubsea and Hiretech, in 2022.

ACE Winches will form part of the Group's enlarged Mechanical Solutions offering, a core area of focus for inorganic expansion. Gary Wilson, current Chief Commercial Officer at ACE Winches will run the day to day operations reporting to Ashtead Technology management with founder, Alfie Cheyne, remaining with the business as an advisor for 12 months to provide strategic and commercial input through a handover and integration period.

As at 31 March 2023, ACE Winches reported gross assets of £55.7m and for the 12 months to December 2023 ACE Winches is expected to generate revenues of c. £43.4m, adjusted EBITDA of £13.7m and adjusted EBITA of £10.0m. Organic growth rates for the enlarged Group are expected to be in line with previous medium term guidance. Pro forma leverage for the enlarged Group as at 31 December 2023 is expected to be less than 1.4x, with the Group de-leveraging to less than 1x by December 2024.

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Current Trading

The Board continues to be very encouraged by the Group's performance through H2 2023 and now expects FY23 to be comfortably ahead of its previous expectations before taking into account the additional growth from ACE Winches.

Allan Pirie, Ashtead Technology's CEO, commented:

"We are delighted to announce this acquisition. ACE Winches is a business we have known for many years and has an exceptional reputation as a go-to provider of lifting, pulling and deployment solutions that is highly complementary to the existing capabilities within Ashtead Technology.

"While the business predominantly serves the oil and gas industry, we see a significant opportunity to redeploy the asset base in offshore renewable markets as well as further internationalising our business. The transaction serves to reinforce our strategy of expanding our fungible fleet and range of offshore services solutions to meaningfully enhance our customer offering, and in turn grow further market share. We look forward to welcoming new colleagues to the Ashtead Technology team and capitalising on the wealth of in-house expertise they will bring to the Group." 

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Notes to editors:

Ashtead Technology is a leading subsea equipment rental and solutions provider for the global offshore energy sector. Ashtead Technology's specialist equipment, advanced-technologies and support services enable its customers to understand the subsea environment and manage offshore energy production infrastructure with over 85% of its equipment fungible across both markets.

The Company's service offering is applicable across the lifecycle of offshore wind farms and offshore oil and gas infrastructure.

In the fast-growing offshore wind sector, Ashtead Technology's specialist equipment and services are essential through the project development, construction and installation phase. Once wind farms are operational, Ashtead Technology supports customers with inspection, maintenance and repair ("IMR") equipment and services. In the more mature oil and gas sector, Ashtead Technology's focus is predominantly on IMR and decommissioning.

Headquartered in the UK, the Company operates globally, servicing customers from its eleven facilities located in key offshore energy hubs.

This announcement contains inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of EU Regulation 596/2014 as it forms part of domestic law of the United Kingdom by virtue of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018, as amended (together, "MAR"). Upon the publication of this announcement, this inside information is now considered to be in the public domain.