Vestas to Take Full Ownership of MHI Vestas

Vestas Wind Systems and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries have signed an agreement through which Vestas will acquire MHI’s shares in the MHI Vestas Offshore Wind joint venture.

Vestas is to acquire MHI’s 50 per cent share of the MHI Vestas joint venture against 5,049,337 shares in Vestas that will be issued at closing of the transaction, corresponding to 2.5 percent of Vestas’ nominal share capital after the capital increase. MHI will also be nominated to a seat in Vestas’ Board of Directors.

The transaction has a value of approximately EUR 709 million, based on the volume-weighted average of the price for shares in Vestas the last five days up to and including 28 October.

Closing of the transaction is expected to take place within either the fourth quarter of 2020 or the first quarter of 2021, Vestas said.

With this move, Vestas aims to become a leading player in offshore wind by 2025.

A new offshore wind turbine platform will also be imminently introduced to improve efficiency and drive the levelised cost of energy further down, the Danish turbine maker said.

Vestas and MHI also plan on collaborating in green hydrogen, as well as setting up a joint venture in Japan.

“Vestas is the leader in onshore wind, but to accelerate the energy transition and achieve our vision we must play a larger role in offshore wind,” Henrik Andersen, Group President and CEO of Vestas, said.

”On behalf of all of Vestas, I’m therefore very excited that Mitsubishi Heavy Industries shares Vestas’ vision to become a leading player in offshore wind energy in the long term and will strengthen our partnership by becoming a large shareholder and part of Vestas’ Board of Directors. Offshore wind is key to creating a sustainable planet for future generations and offers unique growth, and with today’s announcement we underline that we want to be an integral part of both.”

In Japan, Vestas and MHI will establish a joint venture for sales of onshore and offshore wind power turbines.

Seiji Izumisawa, President and CEO of MHI, said: “We are very pleased to be able to expand our cooperation and collaboration with Vestas, now more than ever, under the backdrop of increasing need for cleaner and more economical energy worldwide. We will continue to strengthen business cooperation by leveraging our respective strengths to support the growth of clean energy around the world, especially in Japan.”

Vestas’ planning of the expected integration of MHI Vestas into the Vestas group will commence immediately and run until transaction closing.

On a stand-alone basis, MHI Vestas is expected to report a consolidated revenue of approximately EUR 1.4 billion for 2020, with an EBIT margin of around four per cent.