Offshore services provider OEG, which employs more than 200 people in Aberdeen, is within days of completing another takeover deal which will extend its string of five acquisitions in the renewables sector during 2023.
Headed by chief executive John Heiton, the company has super-charged its diversification into the offshore wind sector since US investment group Oaktree Capital took a controlling stake in the business in March of last year. This has been backed by a $140m (£112m) term loan and revolving credit facility from a syndicate of banks secured in October.
READ MORE: Aberdeen's OEG set to complete fifth acquisition of 2023
“We have one [acquisition] that is almost across the line in terms of signing," Mr Heiton told The Herald. "It’s meant to be this week, or worst case next week.”
He added: “We have another one which we expect to complete at the end of quarter one, and then we have multiple discussions going on other ones that will be further down the pipeline.”
OEG is aiming to become a $1 billion business within the next three to five years as it expands its presence in the growing renewables sector. Set up at the end of 2020, this division - which provides services for the development, construction and maintenance of offshore wind farms and other marine energy businesses - hit a milestone to account for half of OEG's revenues in 2023.
“We have built the renewables part of the business which is the key growth driver we are trying to expand through a mixture of acquisitions and organic growth," said Mr Heiton, who has been chief executive since 2008.
"I can kind of plan for organic growth and see the visibility of the market, but what I can’t plan for is the acquisitions, so [reaching the $1bn revenue mark] is affected by the timing of those deals.”
The company says it achieved pro-forma revenues of $434m in 2023, a 35% increase on the previous year. This was driven by growth in both renewables and OEG's traditional cargo carrying operations which transport equipment, food and other supplies to and from offshore platforms.
Asked about the company's profitability, Mr Heiton said: “We are a private company, so we are quite conservative in what information we give out, but our margins have grown…and our profits would have grown by more than our revenue growth.”
OEG now employs more than 1,000 people globally following last year's acquisitions of subsea cable construction specialist Pelagian, submarine cable installer 23 Degrees Renewables, survey specialist Geosight, subsea specialist Bluestream, and topside services provider Marine Coordination Services.
Based in the Netherlands, Bluestream Offshore and Marine Coordination Services will form a new hub for OEG in mainland Europe.
Mr Heiton said the group is firmly placed for further growth as the offshore energy industry continues its structural transition, and will continue leveraging its core capabilities honed throughout its 50-year history.
READ MORE: New oil and gas exploration licences approved in the North Sea
Following a "transformational" year in 2023, the outlook for the coming months is said to be positive with the offshore wind sector forecast to grow at approximately 22% annually to reach 344GW of operating capacity by 2035. Meanwhile, global demand for oil and gas is currently expected to rise by 1.1 million barrels per day in 2024.
OEG is also set to expand another new part of its business which supplies cryogenic tanks to the industrial gas market, with a focus on markets in Asia and the Middle East.
"2024 looks set to be another year of strong growth for OEG as it leverages its established profile, expanded service offering, global footprint and strong balance sheet to achieve its near-term target of generating $1bn in annualised group revenue in the next few years," Mr Heiton added.
OEG is majority-owned by Oaktree, which also lists Glasgow-headquartered temporary power specialist Aggreko among its portfolio of companies. About 10% of the equity in OEG is owned by members of its management team.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel