Marine investment

Rolls-Royce has announced its intention to purchase a 33 per cent stake in the Norwegian provider of marine handling systems, ODIM ASA, for up to £66m.

According to the company, the deal will help strengthen its presence in the offshore oil and gas sector, and allow it to provide customers with a broader product and service offering, including ODIM’s automated handling systems for seismic and subsea applications.

John Paterson, president Rolls-Royce Marine, said: ‘ODIM has a strong market position and a good product and service portfolio with significant long-term prospects. The offshore sector is core to our marine strategy and our investment in ODIM will facilitate further cooperation between our two companies.’

The acquisition, which consists of 15,545,634 ordinary shares, will be purchased from Aker Solutions subject to approval by the Norwegian competition authority. Under the agreement, Rolls-Royce will make additional payments to Aker Solutions if within nine months of completion it acquires any further shares in ODIM.