Helicopter parents
Fossil fuels are under fire, which in turn has led to a decline in demand for helicopter services from the offshore oil and gas industry. Two large operators have reacted to this trend and are seeking salvation in a merger.
The Bristow Group, a US enterprise based in Houston, has a long tradition; it goes back to the establishment of Bristow Helicopters in Aberdeen (Scotland) in 1955. But Bristow almost came a cropper last year. In May it asked to reorganise its business under Chapter 11 of the USA’s bankruptcy code, and was able to successfully complete the process by October 2019.
Now – having failed to take over manufacturer Columbia Helicopters in 2018 – it has adopted a new approach for the USD 535 million injection of capital it received during its Chapter 11 protection. It has found a like-minded enterprise to join up with, in order to be better equipped to face the ongoing challenging situation in the industry.
Operator instead of manufacturer
Last year Chris Bradshaw, the president and CEO of the Houston-based Era Group, one of Bristow’s competitors, prepared the ground amongst his enterprise’s shareholders, stating that the offshore helicopter industry is urgently in need of consolidation.
Now the two firms have merged into one entity that will be called Bristow, with Bristow’s shareholders holding 77% of the share capital. A joint statement in preparation for a final agreement has revealed that the merged firm will become the biggest operator worldwide of large helicopters and run a fleet of more than 300 of the most modern units equipped with the latest generation of technology. These include S-92s, offering a 9 t payload, AW189s (6.5 t) and AW139s (4.5 t). They will be deployed in the Americas, Australia, Nigeria, Norway as well as in the United Kingdom.
Bristow president and CEO L. Don Miller commented that “the merger of our two business cultures that complement each other wonderfully will create an even stronger and better integrated industry leader.”
