Royal Boskalis Westminster and Saam have created a joint harbour towage operation within the American Continent in Brazil, Mexico, Canada and Panama.
The intended partnership, which is between Smit, a Boskalis subsidiary, and Saam, a subsidiary of Sociedad Matriz SAAM, was previously announced in September 2013 and all conditions to form the joint venture have now been fulfilled.
Saam Smit Towage
The combined companies will operate under the name Saam Smit Towage (SST). The partnership consists of two underlying joint ventures, with a fleet of 100 tugboats, operating in more than thirty port terminals in Brazil, Mexico, Canada and Panama. The total combined 2013 EBITDA of SST was USD 100 million.
The companies expect the merger to generate synergies in fleet efficiency, cost savings, best practices and market synergies estimated at approximately USD 10 million per year.
Brazilian Joint Venture
The geographic scope of the first joint venture covers the Brazilian towage market, where Smit and Saam already had operations. Boskalis and Saam each hold a fifty per cent share in this new joint venture. With a total of 42 tugboats, the company will operate in major ports such as Rio Grande, Itajai, Santos and Salvador.
Second Joint Venture
The second joint venture, in which Saam holds a 51% majority stake, relates to the towage activities in Panama and Canada (Smit) and Mexico (Saam). The combination will operate a total number of 58 tugboats. This joint venture will have presence in main ports of Canada (Prince Rupert and Vancouver), Panama (Manzanillo, Balboa, Colon Container Terminal) and Mexico (Veracruz, Lazaro Cardenas, Altamira, Tuxpan).
