Gulf Capital sells Kuiper Australia after exit of Middle East Glass

Gulf Capital, one of the largest private equity firms investing from the GCC to the rest of Asia, announced today its successful exit from Kuiper Australia, in a carve-out transaction from its portfolio company, Kuiper Group, the manpower outsourcing company in the offshore energy sector. The sale was structured as a management buyout, supported by National Bank of Australia. The sale of Kuiper Australia is the second exit this month for Gulf Capital, following the successful exit of Middle East Glass in Egypt.

Following the acquisition of a majority stake in the Dubai-based Oil & Gas offshore crew provider, OCB Oilfield Services, Gulf Capital worked closely with the management team to expand across Asia by acquiring Singapore-based Kuiper International, a dominant player in the offshore construction and maintenance services sector, with a particular stronghold in the Asia Pacific (APAC) region and Australia. With offices across the Gulf region and Singapore, Gulf Capital has a long track of expanding its Gulf companies across Asia, through organic growth or bolt-on acquisitions, as was the case with Kuiper International.

Together with the Kuiper Group management team, Gulf Capital built a leading international energy business services platform which now has presence in more than 20 Asian, Middle Eastern, and African countries and enjoys long-standing relationships with its blue-chip energy clients. During Gulf Capital’s holding period, Kuiper Group has implemented a growth programme which focused on significant diversification in customer base, service capabilities, and geographical coverage.

Mr. Mark Somic, Chief Executive Officer of Kuiper Group, said:

Gulf Capital has been an outstanding, high value-add partner as we embarked on our journey together and transformed Kuiper into the market leader it is today. Gulf Capital has been instrumental in shaping the company’s growth strategy and in helping us to install the culture and processes required to enable us to grow and scale rapidly. The business in Australia has grown significantly this year, and we believe that the country’s distinctive business environment commands a standalone operation. This provided the opportunity for the carve-out by the management team. With the strong foundation and leading franchise, Kuiper is well positioned to continue the growth in Australia, and I am honoured to be able to lead it into the next phase of growth as an independent operation, supported by the Group, as and when needed.”