Regions Bank provided a new $35 million asset-based facility to Forbes Energy Services to support the company’s acquisition of Cretic Energy Services from Catapult Energy Services Group.
Headquartered in Montgomery, TX, Cretic provides large-diameter, extended-reach, coiled tubing services to oil and gas producers predominantly in the Permian Basin. The company has been an early mover in bringing high capacity coiled tubing units to the market and one of the fastest growing providers to address specific demands associated with completing long lateral wells.
The combined company will have one of the largest fleets of large-diameter, high-capacity coiled tubing units, and an established footprint in the Permian Basin and South Texas, as well as a presence in niche markets in East Texas, Oklahoma and other states surrounding Texas.
“This acquisition is a sizeable opportunity to accelerate growth for Forbes,” said John Crisp, Forbes president and CEO. “The Cretic team has built a company that is best in class, and dovetails directly with our current offering of completion and production-related services. We share a common goal in continuing to build out an operation based on safe, reliable, consistent and efficient execution.”
Cretic Co-Founder, President and CEO, Joe Michetti, will become president and co-chief operating officer of Forbes. Cretic’s managerial team, technical support staff, and operators will continue in their current roles under Cretic.
Forbes received additional funding for the acquisition by amending and upsizing its existing first lien term loan with an additional $60 million in proceeds. Following the Cretic acquisition, the short term portion of the term loan, in the amount of $50 million, is expected to be repaid with proceeds from a planned offering of rights to purchase unsecured subordinated convertible debt securities to its existing shareholders on a pro rata basis.
Forbes’ two largest shareholders have committed to purchase the debt securities underlying any rights that are not exercised by other shareholders. In the event Forbes does not consummate the planned rights offering within twelve months following the Cretic transaction, the short term portion of the term loan will automatically convert to unsecured subordinated convertible debt securities.
Forbes was advised by Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson and Houlihan Lokey Capital in connection with the acquisition. Catapult was advised by Simmons Energy.
Forbes Energy Services is an independent oilfield services contractor that provides a broad range of completions-related and production-related services to oil and natural gas companies, primarily onshore in Texas and Pennsylvania.
