Cargotec’s MacGregor marine crane division has agreed the acquisition of Norwegian based Aker Pusnes mooring and loading systems from Aker Solutions.

The deal values the Pusnes business at around €180 million, the company which is based near Arendal in Norway, provides mooring equipment, loading and offloading systems as well as a wide range of deck machinery for the offshore and shipping markets.

Cargotec says that the acquisition is highly complementary with its MacGregor offshore product range, including the earlier announced acquisition of Hatlapa.

The Pusnes business was founded in 1875, and in 2012 had sales of approximately €130 million and Earnings Before Interest, Tax, Depreciation and Amortization of €20 million. The unit employs 370 people with facilities in Norway, the UK and Korea.

MacGregor president Eric Nielsen said: “The Pusnes brand has a strong position in large and growing markets with active relationships across diverse customer groups. It has a solid position in lifecycle services with a large installed base and service scope. The unit’s flexible business model focuses on high-value activities and engineering competence with a dedicated management team. All this fits perfectly with MacGregor’s operating model and makes us an even stronger team than before.”

Pusnes general manager Leif Haukom – who will move to MacGregor and continue to head the Pusnes operation – added: “We have highly complementary offerings with leading positions in broad range of market segments. The transaction creates exciting opportunities to further develop our activities, and it also offers new possibilities to our employees within MacGregor.”

“With the previously announced acquisition of Hatlapa, MacGregor is now well on its way in executing its growth strategy, having concluded two key cornerstone actions. Management will now prioritize the integration of both the Pusnes unit and Hatlapa into MacGregor where significant synergies are expected to be realized. Within Cargotec we will focus on strengthening our balance sheet and bring gearing back to below our 50 percent target,” said Cargotec chief executive Mika Vehviläinen.

The acquisition is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2014. Aker says it will use the proceeds to develop its’ main business in the deepwater and sub-sea oil-services segments.