James Fisher completes £90m disposal of RMSpumptools division

Barrow-based maritime group, James Fisher, has completed the disposal of its RMSpumptools business to ChampionX UK.

It follows satisfaction of all applicable conditions, and merger control clearance from the Saudi Arabia General Authority for Competition.

James Fisher announced the proposed sale of the business in March this year in a deal that valued it at £90m.

As part of a longer term strategic review of the business Fisher will take approximately £83m in cash, to reduce debt and simplify and focus its portfolio through the sale of non-core assets.

In April Fisher revealed pre-tax losses for the year of £62.3m, on higher turnover of £496.2m. The 175-year stock market listed group admitted 2023 was “a mixed year” with “unexpected challenges” but said the company had made good progress in building the leadership team, and implementing a new operating model.

In announcing the RMS sale, Fisher said although it is a leader in the oil and gas industry it has “minimal synergies” with the rest of the group and “does not strongly align with the group’s strategy of focusing on maritime services to its core Energy, Defence and Marine Transport markets.”

Following today’s announcement to the stock exchange of completion of the disposal, Fisher said the continuing group continues to trade in line with its expectations and the outlook for 2024 is unchanged.

Chief executive, Jean Vernet, said: “The completion of the sale of RMS is a key inflection point for James Fisher.

“It significantly strengthens our balance sheet and will enable us to continue to deliver the business turnaround, investing in our core portfolio and the innovative new technologies that will deliver future growth.”

He added: “I would like to thank the RMS team for their contribution over the past 20 years and wish them every success in their new future with ChampionX.”

ChampionX UK is the UK subsidiary of the Texas-based ChampionX Corporation.