CBO ACQUIRES FINARGE APOIO MARITIMO AND EXPANDS FLEET TO FORTY VESSELS

(PetroNoticias) CBO Group, a Brazilan maritime support company, today signed an Investment Agreement for the acquisition of the Brazilian company Finarge Apoio Marítimo, owner of a Brazilian-flagged AHTS (Anchor Handling Tug Supply) vessel; and four foreign-flagged AHTS vessels belonging to Finarge Armamento Genovese SRL, totaling the purchase of five vessels. The closing of the transaction, subject to conditions precedent, is expected to be completed in approximately 30 days. With the conclusion of the transaction, and by fully assuming the operations and assets of Finarge, CBO will have 14 AHTS-type vessels in operation in Brazil, consolidating its position in this sector. The company will also take over the contracts already signed by Finarge with Petrobras for four of the five vessels included in the deal.

In total the CBO fleet will comprise 40 vessels. In the last two years, the company has purchased three vessels in the international market – PSV CBO Supporter (2019), AHTS CBO Endeavor (2020) and PSV CBO Energy ( 2021). Finarge is a Brazilian shipping company founded in 2008 as a subsidiary of the Italian company Finarge SRL, which in turn was established in 1981 by the Italian company Rimochiatori Riuniti SpA, specialized in the operation of tugboats in port terminals in Italy and other countries, in addition maritime support operations, emergency relief and towing ships on the high seas. The five vessels involved in the transaction were built between 2008 and 2014. Marcos Tinti, CEO of Grupo CBO, “The acquisition of Finarge and the five vessels will represent another important step in CBO’s growth plan, which consists of the purchase of high spec vessels, able to operate in Brazil, especially in the pre-salt region. We believe that the expansion of the maritime support market is closely linked to investment in modern vessels with high technical quality.”