African business swoops for stricken Derbyshire firm’s assets

Africa Geophysical Services LLC (AGS) has purchased assets of the stricken seismic contracting business, Tesla Exploration International.

Based in Alfreton in Derbyshire, Tesla Exploration International went into administration on 21 September after experiencing cash flow pressures caused by the receivership of its Canadian parent and a downturn in demand within the oil and gas sector.

AGS and its UK subsidiary, IMC Geophysical Services (IMC), has now purchased all of Tesla Exploration International’s plant and equipment located in the UK and Dubai.

The assets are intended to be used for the purposes of geophysical exploration. AGS is a leading operator in this area in the Middle East and Africa, and it is intending to now start carrying on this business in the UK via its subsidiary IMC.

The chairman and managing director of both AGS and IMC said: “This is an important deal for the AGS group and it marks the start of its growth into the UK geophysical exploration market. We look forward to building new relationships with our UK partners with a view to solidifying the AGS group’s presence in the UK market.”

James Hillman and Tom Paton at the Sheffield office of law firm Irwin Mitchell acted for the purchasers on the deal. Charlotte Duce and Amy Walker of DLA Piper acted for the Administrators, Tom Lukic and Sam Woodward of EY.