Not long after Nordex SE announced it is buying Acciona Windpower from Spain-based Acciona SA, the head of the German wind turbine maker has issued a letter to Nordex shareholders, explaining more about the acquisition and declaring the combined entity could become ‘one of the top five suppliers’ in the wind industry.
In the letter, published on Nordex's website, CEO Lars Bondo Krogsgaard says, ‘For some time now, we as a midsize player have been considered a candidate for takeover by sector experts and analysts. And this in spite of the fact that during our successful turnaround, we always emphasized that there was no 'For Sale' sign hanging in the window at Nordex.
"Our sector analysts always had at the back of their minds that in the still-growing wind industry – as in other branches of mechanical and plant engineering – size is an important success factor. We, too, notice this more and more, whether we are tapping new markets, addressing large energy suppliers or reacting to the increasing requirements regarding local value added," Krogsgaard continues. "The acquisition [of] Acciona Windpower by Nordex means that we are now better able to meet these challenges and above all structure our future proactively."
Once the approximately $877 million transaction is complete, the CEO adds, Acciona Windpower will become ‘a new 100 percent subsidiary of Nordex.’
"With its highly competitive products and solutions and successful cultivation of growth markets such as South Africa, Mexico or Brazil, Acciona Windpower has built up a very good reputation in just a few years," he comments. "In addition to this, the parent company Acciona AS, which as a result of this transaction will be the largest strategic shareholder in the "new' Nordex, is one of the biggest operators of wind farms in the world and, thus, offers additional growth potential for the years to come."
Krogsgaard says transitioning Acciona Windpower into a Nordex company will take work, but the process is expected to run smoothly.
"We realize that, apart from implementing current growth, we now have to handle another project, namely the integration of the two companies," he says. "However, as a result of the discussions held with those involved at Acciona Windpower, I take an extremely positive view in this regard. In the months of talks and negotiations, we discovered a lot of common ground and together have developed an idea of what the coming years will look like. Furthermore, the fact that different regional markets are cultivated indicates that there will probably be only a few organizational overlaps."
"So," Krogsgaard concludes, "I am confident that the integration of the two partners will be successfully concluded very soon and that in this new structure we have the potential to become one of the top five suppliers in our industry."
In June, Nordex did not grab a top-10 spot in Navigant Research's latest report ranking the top global wind turbine original equipment manufacturers.
