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.

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