SembMarine unit buys Norway ship design firm LMG for US$20m

SEMBCORP Marine (SembMarine) is buying Norwegian ship design and engineering firm LMG Marin AS for US$20 million.

In an exchange filing on Friday night, the group said that it has, through its wholly owned subsidiary Sembcorp Marine Integrated Yard Pte Ltd, entered into a sale and purchase agreement with LMG's existing shareholders to acquire the entire stake in the firm.

Established in 1943, LMG has an extensive design portfolio that includes floating structures, platforms and a wide variety of ship types such as drillships, floating production, liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers and cruise ships.

LMG was behind several key designs adopted by Sembcorp Marine, including the next-generation Espadon drillship design and the Gravifloat modular LNG and liquefied petroleum gas platform solutions.

The acquisition will bring to SembMarine a cache of design patents and expertise in naval architectural design, engineering and technology development, said the firm.

"Through the strategic acquisition of LMG, Sembcorp Marine further strengthens its intellectual property and knowledge to execute leading-edge design and engineering solutions for the global offshore and marine sectors," said its president and CEO Wong Weng Sun. "This in turn supports our ongoing efforts to move up the value chain so that we can compete better and do more for our customers and partners."