Union Steel buys offshore engineering firm for S$15m

METAL recycler Union Steel Holdings has inked a deal to pay S$15 million to acquire a loss-making group that provides products and engineering services to the offshore and marine industry, it said in a Singapore Exchange filing on Wednesday morning.

It was doing this in a bid to "diversify . . . in view of the sombre situation in the steel market", Union Steel executive chairman and chief executive officer Ang Yu Seng said in the statement.

Union Steel said although the group, Transvictory, has incurred a net loss in the year to-date, it "has been able to maintain significant order flow and visibility".

Mr Ang added: "Although Transvictory deals with the oil and gas sector which is also going through tough times, this has also resulted in a fairer valuation of their assets, which presents a compelling value proposition as they have a strong balance sheet."

The Transvictory group consists of three companies: Transvictory Holdings, Transvictory Winch System and Steadfast Offshore & Marine.