Offshore heavy-lift rivals Dockwise Ltd. and Fairstar Heavy Transport N.V. have settled their differences in a deal that means the two Dutch contractors will merge following a takeover process.

All outstanding legal cases will be dropped after the two companies agreed the deal, which now sees Fairstar’s management unanimously recommend an offer of NOK 10 per share (US $1.64) for the remaining shares in the company (Dockwise already holds more than 95% of the shares of Fairstar).

Fairstar’s CEO Philip Adkins and COO Willem Out have both stepped down from Fairstar’s management board with immediate effect. The company will eventually be delisted from the Oslo Stock Exchange after the 4-week offer period ends, and Dockwise will initiate Dutch statutory buy-out proceedings to acquire the remaining Fairstar shares and obtain full control of the company.

Dockwise says the combination of the two companies “creates a global champion in the transport and oil and gas service provider market”. The combined business will be headquartered at Breda in the Netherlands, with operating offices in Rotterdam, Houston and Shanghai. The enlarged business represents a significant continuing presence for the Netherlands maritime industry in global oil and gas services, added Dockwise.

“Dockwise is a proud provider of the most innovative solutions for extraordinary scale transportation and installation projects for the oil and gas upstream and downstream industries," Dockwise’s CEO André Goedée said. "Joining forces with Fairstar brings Dockwise an accelerated market position in valuable Logistics Management Services, a complementary set of assets and a group of highly skilled employees. The integrated combination will enable Dockwise a more enhanced basis from which its strategic goals can be achieved.

“Our market place is competitive, with rapidly evolving customer demand. The combination allows us to advance our leading position and to provide our customers with timely, innovative and professional solutions.”

Dockwise will publish its Q2 results on Aug. 14 and will update the market at that point on the integration of the Fairstar business. The results will include Fairstar results as of May 9, the date Dockwise gained control of Fairstar.