HOUSTON, March 19, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Willbros
Group, Inc. (NYSE: WG) today announced that it has closed the
transaction for the sale of all outstanding stock of its UtilX
subsidiary to Novinium, Inc., Auburn,
Washington. Willbros will apply net proceeds from the sale
to debt reduction, expected to be in the range of $35 to $40 million, after customary closing costs
and adjustments.
"This acquisition will improve industry competition by providing
a strong alternative to the capital intensive process of replacing
underground utility power cables in order to maintain the world's
aging electrical distribution infrastructure," said the CEO of
Novinium, Glen Bertini. "Failing
cable is a top contributor to both rising utility costs and
customer power outages, and together UtilX and Novinium can offer
the safest, most cost effective solutions for cable rehabilitation,
extending the effective cable lifespan by as much as 40 years."
John T. McNabb, II, Willbros
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, commented, "The team at UtilX
has performed well for us and we expect they will continue to
prosper, teamed now with Novinium. With this sale we are delivering
on our commitment to strengthen our balance sheet. This transaction
is one step toward our goal of $100-$125
million in debt reduction. We have a strong and immediate
plan for the sale of additional non-strategic assets."
About Novinium
Novinium's technology solutions address
circuit owners' infrastructure problems at a fraction of the cost
of existing methods, save energy, save natural resources, and
reduce greenhouse gases by eliminating the need for additional
production of copper and polymers for new cables. Founded in 2003
by the experts who invented cable rejuvenation at Dow Corning in
the 1980's, Novinium's patented injection process rejuvenates and
extends the reliable life of cable up to 40 years. Headquartered in
suburban Seattle, the privately
held company is the recognized technology leader in cable
rejuvenation and was honored as one of Seattle's 2013 Best Places to Work. Further
information is available at www.novinium.com.
About Willbros
Willbros is a specialty energy
infrastructure contractor serving the oil, gas, refining,
petrochemical and power industries. Its offerings include
engineering, procurement and construction (either individually or
as an integrated EPC service offering), maintenance, facilities
development and operations services. For more information on
Willbros, please visit its website at www.willbros.com.
This announcement contains forward-looking statements.
All statements, other than statements of historical facts, which
address activities, events or developments the Company expects or
anticipates will or may occur in the future, are forward-looking
statements. A number of risks and uncertainties could cause
actual results to differ materially from these statements,
including ability to dispose of businesses and assets in a timely
manner at reasonable valuations; and the failure to satisfy
conditions to the closing of such transaction; as well as other
risk factors described from time to time in the Company's documents
and reports filed with the SEC. The Company assumes no
obligation to update publicly such forward-looking statements,
whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise,
except as may be required by law.
CONTACT:
Michael W. Collier
SVP Investor Relations
Marketing & Communications
Willbros
713-403-8038
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SOURCE Willbros Group, Inc.