A swift exit for AMJPE

Aberdeen Murray Johnstone Private Equity has realised its investment in service company RFO, less than a year since it backed the company. RFO has been acquired by Aberdeen-based Qserv, an offshore services company.

The sale of AMJPE’s 21 per cent stake has generated an IRR of 40 per cent. Jock Gardiner, head of the Aberdeen private equity team, said: “RFO has grown steadily over the past nine months and we are pleased with the return generated for clients.” He added: “We didn’t expect such a quick exit – we were delighted to be in a position to exit at this time.”

AMJPE backed the management buy-in of the pipeline cleaning and decommissioning division of Alfred McAlpine last June. He said: “This is a good example of how AMJPE works with its investee companies to provide support when required but also to identify the opportunities for an exit which is mutually beneficial.”

RFO operates in the oil and gas and general industrial sectors and serves the pipeline and industrial services needs of refineries, chemical plants, sub-sea construction, as well as onshore and offshore pipeline construction. Alfred McAlpine’s business is largely non-oil and gas and the RFO team are from a predominantly oil and gas background and so the disposal of the business was a logical step forward for Alfred McAlpine. With a good footholding in the oil and gas industry, the RFO team fits in well with Qserv’s core business in the oil services industry.