Boskalis Ups Fugro Stake: 'No offer coming, it's just an interesting company'

Photo courtesy Fugro

Dutch maritime services provider Royal Boskalis Westminster has once again increased its holding in Fugro N.V., but again insists that is not a step towards making an offer for the company.

Boskalis’ holding in Fugro now stands at 25.1%.

“Boskalis views Fugro as an interesting company with strong market positions in its core activities,” Boskalis said in a statement announcing the increased stake.

“The strategy of Boskalis is focused on offshore and (maritime) infrastructure, making use of the combination of high end know-how and maritime assets. This fits very well with the activities of Fugro. The two companies have a lot in common in the area of assets, knowledge, capital intensity, global coverage, client base and are both global leaders in niche markets.”

Boskalis originally purchased a 14.8 percent stake in Fugro in November 2013 and later upped its to 20.01% in January 2015.

Headquartered in Leidschendam, the Netherlands, Fugro is a global group of companies that provides geotechnical, survey, subsea and geoscience services. The company has a presence in over 60 countries with close to 250 offices. Fugro’s resources include 51 vessels; 26 aircraft; 97 CPT trucks; 261 onshore and 17 offshore rigs; 30 jack-up platforms; 12,591 employees; 35 laboratories; 9 autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs); 150 remotely operated vehicles (ROVs); 40 diving systems; 2,226 nodes; and 61 nearshore craft, according to its website.