Redhall Group, the energy engineering company which provides services to the nuclear industry, has taken over Chieftain Group in an £18.6m deal.

The two AIM-listed companies combined will create an order book of approximately £140m and a group with more than 1,700 employees.

The deal will also strengthen Redhall’s position traditional energy industries; Chieftain, established in 1979, specialises in delivering services to the marine, petrochemical, power, oil and gas, and process sectors.

The fundraising for the deal was undertook by Altium, a pan European banking group, which completed the deal amid a period of unprecedented turbulence on the global financial markets.

Phil Adams, Altium’s UK chief executive, said: “Redhall is a fantastic success story. It has been turned from a loss-making manufacturing business in 2005 into a profitable and diverse engineering company, operating in highly resilient sectors.

“The fact that we were able to raise such a significant sum of money in such a difficult climate is testament to Redhall’s strength and vision for the future.

“The enlarged group will now move forward from a market-leading position in both the nuclear and oil and gas sectors.”

© Crimson Business Ltd. 2008