Nesma & Partners signs an agreement to acquire Kent

Nesma & Partners, a leading contracting company in the Middle East, has ‎signed an agreement to acquire Kent, a global energy services provider. This ‎agreement aligns two successful and entrepreneurial companies with a ‎shared vision for sustainable expansion, creating greater opportunities in ‎new and existing markets as well as service development and enhancement. ‎Completion is anticipated by the end of the calendar year, subject to ‎regulatory approvals and satisfaction of customary closing conditions, at ‎which time Nesma & Partners will become the owner of Kent.‎

Kent is a privately-owned Engineering and Project Management firm in the ‎Energy Sector. The company has been backed by global energy investment ‎firm Bluewater since 2015. In that time, the company has grown its revenue ‎tenfold, experiencing notable growth over the past two years following its ‎acquisition of SNC-Lavalin’s Oil & Gas business in mid-2021.  Now a $1.4 ‎billion-dollar revenue business, it competes for recognized value-based ‎service contracts covering complex and technical solutions for the ‎conventional energy, renewables, low carbon, chemicals and processing ‎sectors. ‎

Kent has a roster of blue-chip clients including international energy ‎companies, national oil companies, renewable energy companies, as well as ‎global petrochemical companies. ‎

Operating for over 40 years, Nesma & Partners has an established track ‎record of success in delivering some of Saudi Arabia’s biggest industrial and ‎infrastructure projects for a wide range of clients in the public and private ‎sectors, including Saudi Aramco, the Public Investment Fund, NEOM, GACA, ‎Ministry of the National Guard, Royal Commission, and the Ministry of ‎Defense. As a leading contracting company, Nesma & Partners offers full-‎fledged services in the industrial, energy, civil and buildings, and ‎infrastructure sectors, plus electro-mechanical capabilities.‎

The strengths of Nesma & Partners and Kent will be leveraged to deliver ‎high-quality services to clients across various industries. Connecting their ‎expertise and resources will enable them to create innovative solutions for ‎clients that meet their evolving needs in an increasingly competitive ‎marketplace across the entire project lifecycle, from consulting to design, ‎build, commissioning, and startup through to maintenance and ‎decommissioning.‎

Nesma & Partners and Kent began collaborating in June 2022 to exploit their ‎respective strengths when they established a Joint Venture, NesmaKent, as ‎EPC Champion for Saudi Aramco.  Its goal is building an autonomous ‎engineering center of excellence in Saudi Arabia to develop new capabilities ‎in engineering, procurement, and construction services relating to carbon ‎capture, blue hydrogen, and blue ammonia technologies. Deploying such ‎technologies will minimize dependence on manual labor, enhance ‎competitiveness, advance execution through schedule and cost ‎improvements, and include visualization, data integration, asset ‎management, digital twin, analytics & artificial intelligence, cyber resilience, ‎and low carbon technologies.‎

Under the ownership of Nesma & Partners, Kent will be positioned and ‎resourced to accelerate the delivery of its ambitious strategy. There will be ‎no changes to the decision-making autonomy structure of Kent or its core ‎service offering.  The current leadership team will remain in place and ‎continue to deliver world-class services to the energy industry through four ‎well-established service lines: Consulting; Engineering & Projects; ‎Commissioning, Completions & Start-up; and Operations & Maintenance. ‎With the new structure, Kent will double down on its efforts to address the ‎challenges and opportunities of the global energy transition. ‎

‎”This is an exciting time for our company as we look to expand our reach and ‎capabilities,” said Nesma & Partners; President & CEO Samer Abdul Samad. ‎‎“We are deeply impressed with the growth and achievements of Kent so far.  ‎We are looking forward to supporting the Kent business to not only continue ‎but supercharge its current trajectory of success. By leveraging the strengths ‎of both companies, we are confident that we can deliver even more value to ‎our customers and achieve our goals for growth and success.”‎

The new agreement will create a solid and dynamic portfolio for Nesma & ‎Partners that is well-positioned to take advantage of the many opportunities ‎that lie ahead. With a shared commitment to excellence and a dedication to ‎delivering world-class services, the two companies are poised to achieve ‎great things in the future.‎

‎”We are thrilled to embark on this next phase of our journey with Nesma & ‎Partners. We have long admired their expertise and dedication to delivering ‎outstanding results for their clients” remarked Kent’s Chief Executive ‎Officer, John Gilley. “This agreement marks an exciting, ground-breaking ‎development for Kent. With the backing and support of Bluewater over the ‎past eight years, we have been able to cement our position as a leading ‎global energy services provider. Now, under the ownership of Nesma & ‎Partners, the Kent brand and all our teams worldwide will have more ‎opportunities to develop and grow our world-class lifecycle services to our ‎clients”. ‎

Marcello Stroppa, Director at Bluewater commented: “We have enjoyed ‎working with the leadership team of Kent over the past eight years.  The ‎team’s appetite for entrepreneurship is truly admirable, and all of us here at ‎Bluewater are sure that with the added support and impeccable reputation ‎of Nesma & Partners, the future continues to be bright for the Kent ‎business.”‎

John Gilley continued: “What excites me the most about this acquisition is ‎the commitment of Nesma & Partners to support the investment that will ‎help us to achieve our purpose to courageously tackle the greatest challenge ‎of our time, to bring our world the energy it needs in the most responsible ‎way ever imagined.”‎

Completing this share purchase agreement marks a significant milestone for ‎both companies. It sets the stage for their next growth cycle and helps them ‎achieve their purpose, building a brighter, more sustainable future for the ‎world. ‎