Boskalis: Fugro’s Activities Fit Well with Our Company. Fugro: No

Following recent news that Boskalis had increased its holding in Fugro to more than 25%, Offshore WIND contacted both companies in an effort to find out more.

In a press release from March 20, Boskalis stated: “Royal Boskalis Westminster N.V. (Boskalis) has increased its holding in Fugro N.V. to 25.1%. Boskalis stresses that this is not a step towards making an offer.”

The company explained that it considers Fugro to be “an interesting company with strong market positions in its core activities”, adding that Fugro’s activities fit very well with the focus of Boskalis’ business strategy.

However, Fugro denies that amount of similarity between the two businesses.

Rob Luijnenburg, Fugro’s Director of Corporate Strategy and Communication, said: “Important is to add that we do not agree with Boskalis’s statement in their press release in which they say that their strategy fits very well with the activities of Fugro.

“Boskalis is a dredging and construction contractor, Fugro is a bureau for survey, soil investigation and advice. Boskalis does not fit with Fugro.

“Clients generally prefer to obtain independent foundation advice and collect ground information, first before contracting a contractor to execute the projects.”

Fugro explained in its press release from Monday that this makes its position highly sensitive to conflicts of interest in particular in relation to construction and installation contractors.

“Fugro can only maintain its current market leading positions if it remains an independent service provider,” the company stressed.

Since Fugro announced last year that it intends to explore partnership options for its Subsea division to build a global Inspection, Repair, Replace and Maintenance (IRRM) market leader, Offshore WIND asked the company have they had talks with Boskalis on that matter. Luijnenburg said: “There have been no talks with Boskalis other than the usual contacts we have with all our important shareholders.”

When asked to comment on Fugro’s opinion that its business does not fit very well with Boskalis and whether it contemplates on taking further shares in Fugro, Boskalis referred to its official press release from March 20.

Image: Fugro (Illustration)