Nautic Africa will soon start seeing more of the Paramonut Group; as the group has purchased a majority stake in Nautic Africa.
Paramount Group is the largest privately owned defense and aerospace company in Africa. It had initially started in the land forces environment before switching to aerospace, this year, with the acquisition of Advanced Technology and Engineering (ATE), which is now Paramont Advanced Technologies.
Started by James Fisher, who is the CEO, Nautic Africa was established in 2008 and provides high-speed, ballistic protected aluminum patrol vessels to the military, Coast Guard and oil and gas communities.
The Executive Chairman of Paramont, Ivor Ichikowitz, said that his company had wanted to move to maritime arena but didn’t want to start from the beginning.
He noted that the biggest threats comes from piracy, theft of marine resources and drug trafficking.
The thought of acquiring Nautic Africa came early 2013, but the formal announcement was made on Thursday.
The acquisition, Ichikowitz said, will combine Paramount’s global market reach and strong track record in Africa with the engineering and design skills of Nautic Africa. This, he continued, will stimulate global demand for Africa’s naval solutions.
The ship builder will be able to leverage off Paramount to strengthen their systems and administrative support, as well as gaining access to markets they could not easily access before.
Nautic Africa recently concluded an R600 million deal to build seven 35 metre multi-role patrol vessels for West African clients and is actively working on new orders. The acquisition will further create jobs in the maritime industry as well as the general defence and systems industry.
The South African Navy (SAN) has expressed a desire for a strong local maritime industry and Fisher is interested in pursuing relationships with the SAN. In order to grow its capabilities, Nautic Africa have partnered with DCNS of France for Project Biro, the acquisition of Offshore Patrol Vessels (OPV). Austal of Australia has also expressed interest in partnering with the Cape Company.
