Gamesa says it has officially acquired 50% of joint venture Adwen from French energy company Areva for a total of $67.5 million, effectively removing an obstacle to the Gamesa-Siemens merger announced last June.
As previously reported, Gamesa and Siemens signed binding agreements to combine their respective businesses and expand their global reach. This merge then necessitated a move for Adwen, as a 50-50 offshore wind joint venture between Gamesa and Areva.
Gamesa granted Areva a put option for Areva’s 50% stake and a call option for Gamesa’s 50% stake in the joint venture. Alternatively, Areva was given the option of divesting 100% of Adwen to a third party via a drag-along right for Gamesa’s stake.
After the merger, Areva was given three months to decide whether it would sell its stake in the joint venture or buy out Gamesa.
Of note, General Electric (GE) offered to purchase some of Adwen’s assets, in an effort to enter into the offshore wind sector, but that offer was rejected.
According to an article from Reuters, GE’s offer was “impossible [for Areva] to accept,” seeing as GE was not interested in purchasing all of the company’s assets, including its operations in the German market.
As of this announcement, Areva officially agreed to sell the 50% Adwen stake to Gamesa for EUR 60 million, or $67.5 million.
With this move, Areva will exit the renewable energy sector, and the Gamesa-Siemens wind power merger will be able to proceed.
