Friede Goldman Halter, Inc. announced that the purchaser has completed financing arrangements for the sale of its Friede Goldman Offshore division based in Pascagoula, Mississippi. On November 15, Friede Goldman Halter, Inc. (FGH) entered into a definitive contract to sell the assets of its Offshore division to ACON Offshore Partners LP, a Delaware limited partnership and an affiliate of ACON Investments, in a transaction valued at approximately $61 million (USD). The sale hearing will take place in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Mississippi, Southern Division, on December 16, 2002. Court approval is expected, with a year-end closing anticipated.
"The FGH Restructuring Committee of the Board of Directors has worked diligently in concert with the Unsecured Creditors Committee to secure this transaction," said Jack Stone, principal, Glass & Associates, Inc. and chief restructuring advisor to FGH. "The sale of the Offshore division represents a determined effort by senior management, our loyal employees, customers and suppliers to complete this process."
Friede Goldman Halter has been advised by ACON Investments that ACON is an international private equity investment firm, which manages investments in the United States, Europe and Latin America. 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. Friede Goldman Halter is further informed that ACON typically utilizes a thematic investment approach to identify investments at times of inflection points and that ACON's investment philosophy is to identify opportunities in industries with attractive dynamics and to pursue those opportunities in partnership with established management teams.