BOURBON Announces its Plan to Sell its Bulk Freight Operator Activity and Focuses on Marine Services to the Offshore Oil and Gas Industry

PARIS, October 19, 2010 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- BOURBON has signed a letter of intent to sell its Freight Operator activity to a company which is 100% controlled by Mr. Jean-Louis Bottaro and his family. Mr Bottaro founded and managed Setaf from 1968 to 2008.

In this sale the cement carrier Endeavor remains the property of BOURBON, who continues to operate it within the framework of a service contract with the buyer.

"The development of our Freight Operator activity requires investments that BOURBON would not be able to make for several years, due to the decisions announced in the BOURBON 2015 Leadership Strategy. This is why the sale to a professional in the Bulk field is the best solution for the development of this activity", said Jacques de Chateauvieux, CEO of BOURBON. "With this sale, BOURBON becomes a pure player in marine services to the offshore oil and gas industry, focused on the implementation of its strategic plan."

The sale should be completed before the end of the year and should generate a capital gain of about 10 million euros. Given this plan to sell and with the application of IFRS, financial data related to the Bulk Division will be reclassified in "income from activities held for sale", as from January 1st 2010.

About BOURBON

With 7,700 professionals and a fleet of 403 owned vessels and 116 units on order, BOURBON is currently present in more than 30 countries.

BOURBON offers a wide range of offshore oil and gas marine services. Under the new <<BOURBON 2015 Leadership Strategy>> plan, the company will invest US$ 2 billion to offer its most demanding oil and gas clients a large fleet of 600 innovative and high performance vessels. It guarantees the highest standard of quality service worldwide, under safe conditions.

BOURBON also specializes in bulk transport and protects the French coastline for the French Navy.

Classified by ICB (Industry Classification Benchmark) in the "Oil Services" sector, BOURBON is listed for trading on Euronext Paris, Compartment A, and is included in the Deferred Settlement Service SRD and in the SBF 120 and Dow Jones Stoxx 600 indices.

    All information on http://www.bourbon-online.com

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SOURCE BOURBON MANAGEMENT