The UAE-based Abraaj Capital has acquired 100 per cent of GMMOS Group, a major regional oil and gas services and industrial group operating in the Gulf and Caspian markets.

GMMOS Group comprises four well-established business divisions, including Grandweld, the leading shipyard in the Gulf focusing on the Offshore Supply Vessel (OSV) segment; GMMOS Fabrication, an oil and gas specialised steel fabricator of pressure vessels and skid modules; Stanford Marine, a prominent OSV charter operator in the Gulf; and Gallagher, one of the largest mobile fleet operators in the UAE.

The firm has witnessed very strong growth over the past few years across all its divisions. This trend is expected to continue in the coming years, driven by sustained high oil prices, increased oil and gas related spending, growth in the regional construction sector, and the overall economic growth of the region, said a statement.

Abraaj’s acquisition of GMMOS Group was made through the $500 million Abraaj Buyout Fund II (ABOF II).

Commenting on the acquisition, Mustafa Abdel-Wadood, managing director of Abraaj Capital, said: “This is Abraaj’s first direct entry into the attractive and rapidly growing oil and gas services segment. GMMOS Group is a classic private equity target: a successful company and great prospective platform that will be able to make a transformational leap forward with access to the management and financial expertise, and funding, that we bring to the table.”

Abraaj Capital is a premier investment firm specialising in private equity investment in the Middle East, North Africa and South Asia (MENASA) region. It has over $4 billion of assets currently under management. - TradeArabia news Service