SEACOR Acquires Graham & Sons For $74 M

SEACOR Holdings has signed a letter of intent to acquire substantially all the assets of John E. Graham & Sons and affiliated companies for $74.3 million in cash, subject to adjustment. The transaction is conditional upon, among many other things, satisfactory completion of due diligence, execution of definitive documentation and receipt of all necessary governmental approvals. It is anticipated that the transaction will be consummated in the third quarter of 1995. SEACOR currently intends to finance the acquisition through a combination of borrowings and existing cash balances. John E. Graham & Sons, Inc., based in Bayou La Batre, Ala., owns a fleet of 128 offshore vessels dedicated to serving the oil and gas industriesintheU.S. GulfofMexico. The fleet includes 80 utility boats, 36 crewboats, seven supply vessels, and five mini-supply vessels. In addition to purchasing the marine equipment, SEACOR will also acquire industrial real estate, a shipyard, and nine vessel support bases located in Alabama, Louisiana and Texas. John E. Graham & Sons employs approximately 675 people. The selling partners,Edgar, Glenn and Clark Graham, will continue as advisors to the Graham operations. Charles Fabrikant, chairman of SEACOR, said: "We look forward to carrying on the Graham family's tradition for excellent service. We intend to run this as a separate division and continue to operate the fleet using the Graham name and personnel. This acquisition consolidates SEACOR's position as a full-service provider of marine transportation to the offshore energy sector." He continued, "An additional benefit to this transaction is the ability of our environmental oil spill response subsidiary, National Response Corporation (NRC), to use the Graham bases and to access a larger, more diversified pool of marine equipment and personnel on a priority basis. The acquisition will double NRC's response capabilities in the U.S. Gulf, which has the highest concentration of shipping and refining activity in the U.S." For more information on SEACOR Circle 141 on Reader Service Card