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Funds managed by IK Investment Partners (IK) have entered into an agreement with the Norwegian foundation Det Norske Veritas (DNV), to acquire its subsidiary DNV Petroleum Services (DNVPS), a global leader in fuel management services. Financial details for the transaction were not disclosed.

Founded by the Norwegian foundation DNV in 1981, DNVPS is a leading global provider of fuel management services for the maritime and power sectors with customers including ship owners, managers and charterers as well as power plant operators. The company primarily operates within two segments, fuel quality testing and bunker quantity surveys, having pioneered their development when they were introduced in 1981 and 1987, respectively. DNVPS is currently the market leader within fuel quality testing with approximately half of the global contracted volume.

DNVPS has experienced strong growth since inception, reaching USD 50 million in revenue with a business model resilient to cyclical freight rates. Headquartered in Singapore, the company employs 220 staff and has offices in Rotterdam, Houston, Fujairah and Oslo with four strategically located ISO 17025 accredited and specialised laboratories, supported by sales and customer support in 150 key shipping clusters.

"The sale is a strategic decision, based on a review of the DNV Foundation's total portfolio of activities following the DNV GL merger. DNVPS was not part of the merger process and has remained with the DNV Foundation. We believe the new ownership will provide DNVPS with a stronger platform and better focus for delivering on its strategic ambitions," said Henrik O. Madsen, President and CEO DNV GL Group.

"DNVPS has been an exciting business since it was established by DNV back in 1981, and it has been consistently growing and during the past 20 years also delivered strong financial results. We believe IK will develop the company further and move it to its next level of growth. At the same time, DNV GL will continue its partnership with DNVPS to provide expert services to new and existing clients around the world."

Eirik Andreassen, who will remain as Managing Director of DNVPS, said: "This is a defining moment for DNVPS as we are poised for growth with IK. Opportunities will come from sharpening our focus on our clients’ needs, building on our global leadership position, expanding our high-quality service offerings and R&D capabilities and leveraging our fuel quality testing database to create value and develop innovative services and products. We are also pleased to maintain close ties and collaborate with DNV so that clients can benefit from our enhanced capabilities."

Thomas Klitbo, Deputy Director at IK, said: "DNVPS is an innovative and well-established company in a specialised niche market. The company will benefit from increased global fleet size and increased demand for its services, which will allow it to maximise volume growth. We are looking forward to working with the management team on this project."

Closing of the transaction is subject to legal and regulatory approvals.