Topaz mulls LSE flotation
OILFIELD services company Topaz Energy and Marine is mulling a float on the London Stock Exchange.
The Dubai-based company, one of the biggest oil services firms in the Middle East, has already appointed JP Morgan Cazenove to advise on the possible float – which could come as soon as March.
Topaz, the biggest revenue generator among a portfolio of companies owned by Omani company Renaissance Services, saw a pre-tax profit of $70.3m (£44.2m) from revenues of $448.5m, with $160.4m in earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation in 2009.
The potential float, first reported by Sky News, would likely see the firm propelled directly into the FTSE 250, trading alongside peers such as Wood Group and AMEC.
The money raised is expected to be used to expand Topaz’s businesses in the Gulf and the Caspian Sea as well as its smaller operations in west Africa and Brazil. Topaz parent Renaissance is expected to retain its current Oman stock exchange listing.
Oil services companies are expected to see a boom in business over the coming year as projects that were put on hold following last year’s Gulf of Mexico disaster spill, get off the ground.