Cegal Expands In The UK Oil And Gas Market
- Published: Wednesday, 09 September 2015
- Author: Daily News
STAVANGER, Norway & ABERDEEN, U.K. -- Cegal, headquartered in Stavanger, Norway has acquired 100 per cent of the shares in Aberdeen-based Escape Business Technologies. The joint forces of the two technology firms represent a significant strengthening of Cegal’s position in the U.K. market. Cegal is an innovative provider of IT and geoscience solutions to the global oil and gas industry.
The firm has a £50 million turnover and 310 staff throughout its offices in Stavanger, Oslo, London, Aberdeen, Houston, Calgary and Dubai. The firm has expanded rapidly over the last few years, particularly within IT and software solutions helping their customers to more efficiently utilize their resources.
Escape is an award-winning, energy-focused provider of IT consultancy and infrastructure support to both U.K. and international companies. Escape holds preferred partner status with major vendors such as Microsoft and HP, and currently employs 26 staff in Aberdeen and Thurso, with a turnover of £3 million.
“This is an exciting step for Escape following the growth we have achieved since starting the business 15 years ago. Cegal’s innovative products and capabilities coupled with their international network and expertise in the geoscience market, combines perfectly with our existing IT-support core offerings. We are delighted to become part of the Cegal organization and we are confident that our existing client base will benefit from the additional services Cegal will bring both in Aberdeen and internationally,” says Robin Parkinson, co-founder and managing director of Escape.
“This is a great opportunity for both companies and we are happy to have teamed up with Escape and strengthened our position in the U.K. market. Escape has a strong client base in Aberdeen, they have a strong business culture and a highly skilled technical team. By joining forces, we will create synergies that will be beneficial for our customer base. We see a substantial potential to help the industry become more efficient by utilizing our solutions with local support and competence. This will take us a big step towards being a major player for the oil and gas industry in the U.K. market,” says Svein Torgersen CEO in Cegal.
Cegal is owned by Norvestor V, L.P (52 per cent), a fund advised by Norvestor Equity AS, management and employees (48 per cent).
Norvestor Equity AS is a leading private equity company focusing on lower mid-market buyouts in the Nordic region. The team has worked together since 1991 making it one of the most experienced private equity teams in Norway, having executed 56 investments and participated in 228 add-on acquisitions and divestitures. Norvestor focuses on investment opportunities in growth companies, making platform investments principally in Norway and Sweden, with potential to achieve a leading Nordic or international position either through organic growth, through acquisitions or by expanding into new countries. Funds advised by Norvestor are currently invested in the following portfolio companies; Life Europe, Johnson Metall , Advantec, Apsis, Aptilo, Cegal, Marine Aluminium, Crayon, Sortera, ABAX, Robust, iSurvey, Future Production, Nomor, PG Group, Roadworks and Permascand. Read more at www.norvestor.com.
Cegal is a provider of Geoscience and IT solutions to global the oil and gas industry. The company was founded in 2000, and has 310 employees in offices in Stavanger (headquarters), Oslo, Houston, London, Aberdeen, Calgary and Dubai. The offering to the market is substantial and range from IT outsourcing, cloud services and software solutions. In 2014 the total revenue was MNOK 557, which represents a growth of 25 per cent compared to the performance in 2013. For more information, visit www.cegal.com.
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