Dubai-based asset management and investment banking firm Shuaa Capital has acquired Abu Dhabi-headquartered Allianz Marine and Logistics Services Holding Limited, a provider of offshore support vessels (OSVs) and marine logistics services.

The transaction is one of the largest merger and acquisition (M&A) deals in the maritime offshore sector in the Middle East in recent years, the company said in a statement on Wednesday.

Allianz Marine operates a fleet of approximately 117 owned and chartered OSVs, including platform supply vessels, anchor handling tug supply vessels, crew boats, accommodation barges and flat barges, among others.

The transaction, made through Shuaa’s managed funds, is the company’s second strategic investment in the OSV sector following its acquisition of Stanford Marine Group, a Dubai-based OSV operator that has been in the market for more than two decades.

With the latest deal, Shuaa now manages the largest portfolio of 152 offshore supply vessels in the region and the fourth largest OSV fleet in the world, the statement said.

(Reporting by Cleofe Maceda; editing by Seban Scaria)

Cleofe.maceda@lseg.com