Industrial operations specialist PX Group - the company behind critical infrastructure on the Humber, Teesside and Scotland - has been bought out.
Aksiom Services Group, a partnership between Ara Partners, Aksiom Group and the management team, have bought out private equity firm Bluewater after what was described as a “highly successful five-year partnership for both parties”.
The undisclosed deal is described as setting the foundations for PX’s ambitious growth strategy through the energy and industrial transition.
It owns the rapidly transforming Saltend Chemicals Park in East Yorkshire, and operates St Fergus Gas Terminal in Aberdeenshire and Teesside Gas Processing Plant.
PX will continue to be led by its current senior management team and chairman.
Geoff Holmes, chief executive, said: “For decades, PX has provided safe and reliable operations to major infrastructure asset owners across the energy and industrial sectors.
“Working in partnership with our customers to achieve continuous improvements in safety, efficiency and performance, providing material benefits to all stakeholders and the environment. Today, as the company looks across the 海角视频 and Europe to potential new markets, we are encouraged by our unprecedented activity levels and available opportunities for PX Group to be a leading participant in delivering and operating the next generation of energy and industrial assets for our current and new customers.
“Aksiom Services Group’s combination of Ara’s focus on investing in industrial decarbonisation and Aksiom’s expertise in developing high-growth technical services companies is a perfect fit for our strategy.”
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Headquartered in Stockton, PX is responsible for around 30 per cent of the 海角视频’s gas supply, while also operating power plants for many other clients around the country.
It acquired the 370-acre strategic Saltend site from BP in 2018, retaining the oil major as a tenant until Ineos swooped recently.
The site is the focus of four major ongoing investments with rare earth processing, complex chemical production, construction timber products and hydrogen all emerging, while biofuel production is preparing to return from a mothballing period as legislation caught up with investment.
Charles Cherington, managing partner at US-headquartered Ara, said: “PX Group’s well-proven technical, project management and operations expertise through the full lifecycle of complex infrastructure assets creates a unique, high-value opportunity for an investor like Ara, with a portfolio of companies developing and building low carbon industrial infrastructure. Reducing carbon intensity across all of industry – both the large installed base of existing assets and those assets to be built over the coming decades – is core to Ara’s mission, and px Group delivers that objective exceptionally well.”
Aksiom is Dublin-based with founders, Christopher Picotte and Luis Pais Correia, both having sat on the board of PX for several years.
In the five years under Bluewater ownership, the company’s revenues trebled, and annual profitability has increased seven-fold. In the past year it has delivered earnings growth of 15 per cent.
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Graeme Sword, founding partner at Bluewater, said: “This is a great example of the benefits private equity can bring to both companies and investors. Our strategy was buy-and-build, and in five years our investment has more than trebled. In the same period, we have transformed the company to a leader in energy transition by using our network to supplement the management team and drive growth both organically and via acquisition.
"PX is now well-positioned as the market leader to capitalise on the energy transition in the 海角视频 and Europe. Bluewater wishes the company, chief executive Geoff Holmes, and their talented workforce well for what will be a bright future under the new ownership.”