Sembmarine buys US$28m of Sevan Marine's intellectual property to kill lawsuit

It will get 95% of Sevan Marine's IP rights holder.

Sembcorp Marine (Sembmarine) will buy Sevan Marine’s US$28m worth of intellectual property (IP) which will terminate a US Court infringement case filed by the Norwegian firm against Sembmarine.

The sales will also earn Sembmarine 95% equity interest in Sevan Marine subsidiary HiLoad LNG which hold certain intellectual property rights. Aside from this, 26 Sevan Marine employees will be absorbed by Sembmarine, an announcement revealed.

The Sembcorp subsidiary will also assume operating costs of three Sevan Marine office locations through the agreement.

Also read: Sembmarine risks sinking in 2018 despite new orders

If not completed by 31 December 2018, the purchase agreement shall be terminated. 

“In such an event, the litigation between the Sembcorp Marine Group and Sevan Marine in the US Courts over the infringement of Sembcorp Marine’s intellectual property rights will then continue,” the announcement said.

According to the announcement, Sembmarine shall have the right, but not an obligation to match an offer should Sevan Marine receive a binding offer from another party for the transaction with a cash price of not less than 10% higher than the agreement with Sembmarine, or a voluntary or mandatory cash offer for all of Sevan Marine’s shares. 

Listed in the Oslo Bourse, Sevan Marine specialises in the design, engineering, and project execution of floating units for offshore applications.