Cumbrian marine services company, James Fisher, has successfully completed the sale of Martek Holdings and its subsidiaries, based in Rotherham, for £12.1m.
James Fisher, headquartered in Barrow-in-Furness, initially acquired Martek in January 2019 for £9m in cash, with the potential for an additional £1m, contingent upon a profit target for the year ending 28 February 2020.
Founded in Rotherham in 2000, Martek is an international distributor of premium mission-critical and life-critical safety, monitoring, and medical equipment for the maritime industry. It has been bought by a regional fund managed by Foresight Group and Martek’s management team, in a cash deal involving an initial payment of £10.6m and an unconditional deferred element of £1.5m, payable in two equal instalments on the first and second anniversaries of the transaction completion date.
Martek, which employs approximately 50 people and is part of James Fisher’s Maritime Transport Division, generated revenue of £11.6m and a profit before tax of £1.4m for the year ended 31 December 2023.
The disposal aligns with James Fisher’s strategy to streamline and focus its portfolio through the sale of non-core assets. The net proceeds from this transaction will be utilised to reduce leverage and strengthen the company’s balance sheet. Together with the sale of RMSpumptools completed in July 2024, this disposal will facilitate a further reduction in leverage towards a target range of 1.0 to 1.5 times Net Debt to EBITDA.
Jean Vernet, CEO of James Fisher, remarked, “The sale of Martek continues our strategy to simplify the business portfolio and ensure investment remains focused on our core customer markets, including innovative new product development. We are confident that the business will continue its success under Foresight’s ownership, and on behalf of everyone at James Fisher, I would like to thank the Martek team for their contribution.”
The sale of Martek Holdings signifies a strategic move for James Fisher, focusing on core markets while ensuring financial stability.