Austal buying BSE Maritime Solutions Group

Austal said it has entered into an agreement to acquire Australian-based BSE Maritime Solutions Group (BSE Maritime Solutions) for A$27.5 million. BSE Maritime Solutions is a  ship repair and support business for defence, commercial, tourism, and luxury vessel customers, operating in Cairns and Brisbane. Current customers include Australian Border Force, BAE Systems, Thales and Svitzer. BSE Maritime Solutions employs approximately 60 permanent staff who will be offered employment with Austal. The acquisition aligns with Austal’s stated strategy of continuing to build the company’s key support business. Revenue from Austal’s support segment has grown at an annual rate of 28 percent over the past four years to reach A$360 million in the 2020 financial year, providing reliable ongoing revenue in addition to Austal’s shipbuilding operations. Austal Chief Executive Officer David Singleton. Austal Chief Executive Officer David Singleton said, “BSE Maritime Solutions is a quality business and its acquisition aligns with our stated strategy of growing our support division, adding further scale to our operations on the east coast of Australia in addition to our existing support services at Henderson, Cairns, and Darwin. In particular, the acquisition provides Austal with dockyard and ship lift capability in the northeast region of Australia – including the Pacific’s largest mobile boat hoist, capable of moving 1120 tonnes – supporting our existing and future customers and reinforcing our commitment to grow in the region. It further enhances our in-service support capabilities, currently provided across multiple facilities in Cairns, for the Austal designed and constructed Cape-class and Guardian-class Patrol Boats.” Austal expects that the new business will generate an EBITDA of A$5 million in FY2021 rising to A$11 million by FY2025 as more Austal ships covered by current sustainment contracts are delivered to the Commonwealth of Australia. For Editorial Inquiries Contact: Editor Kym Bergmann at [email protected] For Advertising Inquiries Contact: Director of Sales Graham Joss at [email protected]