28.11.2013

Two access acquisitions for Palfinger

Palfinger has acquired two specialist access companies largely targeted at the offshore sector - one in Austria and one in the Middle East.

The first is the acquisition of an 85 percent stake in Palfinger systems GmbH which manufacturers, sells and rents ‘innovative customised access systems’. It is a part of the business that Palfinger did not acquire when it took over Palfinger Systems offshore loader crane business in 2012 and has been owned by the Hubert Palfinger Senior.

The company had revenues of €1 million in 2012 and employs 50 staff, with offices in Salzburg and a production facility in Weng im Gesäuse, Styria, Austria. It recently landed a $10 million contract for a client in Singapore. The price paid will be a symbolic €1 – but 'the company’s disproportional dividend arrangement will remain in force until 2025'.

The second acquisition is of UAE and Qatar rope access specialist Megarme Group, which has around 500 employees, many of them abseilers. Much of the work the company does is related to repair and maintenance work on ships and oil rigs, including interior and exterior cleaning, rust and paint removal, recoating, inspection and repairs.

Megarme has three operations in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Qatar, with revenues of around €15 million. Palfinger will take over 'full operational and entrepreneurial control' of the business once the deal is completed.

Palfinger chief executive Herbert Ortner said: “The solutions have now reached a degree of maturity that makes them an extremely interesting addition to our portfolio. As innovation leader, we will thus consolidate our presence in the marine sector. At the same time, Palfinger systems now needs capacities and structures for production and services in order to be able to exploit the additional potential. We have all this available the world over.”