ACON Investments Acquired Signal
Washington DC – Feb 3, 2003 ACON Investments, LLC (ACON) is pleased to announce that it has completed the purchase of the offshore division assets of Friede Goldman Halter, Inc. This announcement comes after ACON through an affiliate, complied with the conditions precedent in the asset purchase agreement approved by the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District in Mississippi, Southern Division, December 20, 2002. ACON, is an international private equity fund Headquartered in Washington, DC, which manages investments in the United States, Europe and Latin America.
ACON created a new company, Signal International, LLC (Signal), to operate its acquired assets. It will operate in Pascagoula, Mississippi and Port Arthur Texas. Signal will upgrade, repair and build various types of offshore drilling rigs, floating production units and inland and offshore drilling and derrick barges. Signal will be headed by the newly appointed CEO, Richard Marler. "We are very upbeat to have completed the acquisition and are optimistic that customers will see that we have a world class team of professionals and assets", said Richard Marler. "We can now again fully focus on our customers and stakeholders. The gained positive experience with our stakeholders makes me firmly believe that we are heading for a bright future", Marler continued. The balance of the senior management team includes Ron Schnoor, John Haley, Bob Shepherd and Chris Cunningham.
Both Signal management and ACON believe that the offshore rig repair and upgrade business is an excellent investment opportunity. The acquired assets formed the core of a company that once had almost 50% of the offshore oil -rig repair an upgrade business in the Gulf of Mexico and we believe that our new management team will be able to recapture that share of the market. As a leader in the offshore repair and upgrade industry, we believe that Signal will benefit from continuing attempts by the United States to reduce its dependence on foreign sources of oil and gas. ACON's experience and relationships within the industry should provide additional advantages for growth."
ACON is an international private equity investment firm, which manages investments in the United States, Europe and Latin America. ACON was founded in 1997 and manages partnerships with approximately $500 million under management. ACON’s partnerships typically include sophisticated institutional investors from the U.S., Europe and Latin America. Among its activities, ACON is affiliated with Texas Pacific Group (TPG). TPG manages over $5.7 billion worldwide.
Contact:
Jonathan Ginns, ACON Investments, 202-454-1105 |
