A recently formed subsea services business has secured private equity investment in order to buy a fleet of 32 remotely operated vehicles.
Aberdeen- and Houston-based M² Subsea was able to buy the fleet from the administrators of failed subsea services firm Harkand after getting the investment from a fund advised by Alchemy Special Opportunities.
With the new fleet, the firm expects to create at least 50 onshore and 100 offshore jobs operating primarily in the North Sea, Gulf of Mexico, West Africa and eventually Asia Pacific and the Middle-East by the end of 2017.
The firm is being led by Mike Arnold, the founder of Rovtech, in 1986, as well as Hallin Marine UK and Bibby Offshore’s ROV services unit. He is joined by a strong management team of other subsea veterans including Mark Wood and Mike Winstanley. Wood has also worked at Rovtech, Hallin and Bibby. Winstanley founded Bowtech products, after working for Bergen Underwater Services, Subsea Services and Bennico. Bowtech was acquired by Teledyne in 2014.
Arnold said: “The time is absolutely right for a new ROV services provider with a fresh approach that can, through experience, expertise, the correct asset base and lean management, dramatically reduce both cost and risk whilst continuing to provide a professional and quality service. Key to this will be the company’s collaboration with vessel owners and operators, helping them to maximize utilization of vessels and offering competitive solutions to meet our clients’ demands.”
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