Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy has confirmed it has reached agreement to acquire selected European assets of Senvion Group for €200M (US$223M)
The assets included in the transaction are a large part of Senvion’s European onshore service business and all associated assets and operations, and an onshore blade manufacturing facility in Vagos, Portugal.
A spokesperson for Siemens Gamesa confirmed to OWJ that the deal also includes all of the intellectual property of Senvion, onshore and offshore, but its focus going forward is purely on the development of the onshore assets.
Senvion and partners in the ‘Robust, Reliable and Large Offshore Wind Energy Converters for Clean, Low Cost and Competitive Electricity’ or ReaLCoE project were developing a 10 MW+ next-generation offshore wind turbine that was said to ultimately be capable of 14-16 MW.
The future of that project would now seem uncertain following Senvion’s financial problems, Siemens Gamesa’s acquisition of all of the company’s IP and the latter’s interest only in the German company’s onshore business. A spokesperson for Senvion said the company was unable to comment on the ReaLCoE project at this stage.
Siemens Gamesa said Senvion’s European service assets will strengthen its capacity and potential in what it described as “an important segment” of the wind energy market.
The acquisition of a service fleet of 8.9 GW from Senvion, Siemens Gamesa will have nearly 69 GW under maintenance. The deal helps to diversify Siemens Gamesa’s business mix and geographical exposure with contracts that offer long-term visibility and renewal rates that have historically been very high.
Siemens Gamesa said the onshore blade manufacturing plant in Portugal is one of Europe’ most competitive manufacturing facilities. The facility will reduce the company’s dependency on supplier sourcing in Asia, mitigating volatility amid the uncertainties brought about by current trade issues.
“The highly competitive facility is complementary to our existing blade capacity, has best-in-class operational features and will help to support international sales,” Siemens Gamesa said.
The intellectual property of Senvion allows Siemens Gamesa to enhance its technology portfolio.
Siemens Gamesa chief executive Markus Tacke said, “This transaction is an important step forward for Siemens Gamesa.
“Bringing Senvion’s service assets on board will help us to drive growth in a key market segment and add important capacity in Germany and other important European markets. The blade factory helps us mitigate risk in a difficult trade environment.”
As part of the acquisition, approximately 2,000 Senvion employees are expected to join Siemens Gamesa.
Subject to obtaining the necessary regulatory approvals and achieving other closing conditions, Siemens Gamesa expects to close the deal in the first half of the fiscal year 2020 (October 2019 - March 2020).
For other parts of Senvion, the wind-down process has begun in order to secure acceptable solutions for remaining employees and an orderly liquidation of remaining assets. For other assets, including the company’s Indian operations and non-European service operations, exploratory talks with potential investors continue.
Senvion chief executive Yves Rannou said, "We are pleased that we have been able to give our colleagues in a large part of the European onshore services business and in our blade production facility in Portugal positive news, securing close to 60% of all jobs for now. Siemens Gamesa will be a safe new home for them. We are also confident that this a good solution for our service customers.
"This has been a long and demanding path in a challenging context and in the face of many difficulties, but I am very confident that the business is well-positioned under the new ownership.
"The new environment will protect the critical competencies and skills that were developed at Senvion and enable our employees to make long-term and valuable contributions to the energy transition.
"We thank our customers who stayed with us during this time and continued to show faith in our capabilities and to the financial institutions whose support allowed us to realise this transaction. I also appreciate the constructive approach Siemens Gamesa has shown throughout the negotiations and their dedication towards the transaction.
"We will now continue our efforts to pursue potential options for other parts of the business to find solutions for as many employees as possible."
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