LM WIND POWER: Danish rotor blade producer sold to US conglomerate GE / Move supports ambitious growth plans
Private equity firm Doughty Hanson (London / UK; www.doughtyhanson.com) has sold its stake in LM Wind Power (Lunderskov / Denmark;www.lmwindpower.com), a leading manufacturer of rotor blades for wind turbines, to General Electric (GE, Boston, Massachusetts;www.ge.com) for EUR 1.5 bn.The acquisition is valued at 8.3 times 2016 forecast EBITDA. LM Wind Power has reported sales of EUR 491m and EBITDA of EUR 87m for the first half of 2016, representing year-on-year growth of 40% and 81%, respectively.
Marc de Jong, CEO of LM Wind Power, said the offer from GE made clear commercial sense for the growth of the company. He commented: âIt provides us with the necessary stability, visibility and strength to continue to realise the ambitious growth plans of the business and fully utilise our advanced design and technology, improve our manufacturing capabilities and reliability, expand our global footprint and reduce the levelised cost of energy.
LM Wind Power has 13 manufacturing sites in eight countries across four continents and continues to expand. In June this year, it unveiled the worlds longest blade at 88.4m long. Since 1978, the company has produced more than 185,000 blades, saving around 147m t of CO2, equal to the annual CO2 emissions from electricity used in 20m homes in the US, the company said.
The acquisition is anticipated to complete in the first half of 2017, subject to receiving regulatory approvals.
