Danish wind turbine manufacturer Vestas has agreed to acquire Rheine, Germany-based Availon, an independent service provider (ISP) with approximately 400 employees and a wind capacity of more than 2.6 GW currently under service.
The acquisition price for Availon is EUR 88 million on a debt- and cash-free basis. The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions, including approval from relevant competition authorities. Closing is expected to take place this quarter.
The consideration will be paid in cash from readily available sources. On a stand-alone basis, for 2015, Availon is expected to report consolidated revenues of EUR 59.8 million; normalized earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization of EUR 5.2 million; and total assets of approximately EUR 33.3 million. Availon will be included in Vestas’ financials from the time of closing.
According to Vestas, Availon’s core market is Germany, but the company also provides services in Austria, Italy, Portugal, Spain, Poland and the U.S. Nils de Baar, president of Vestas for central Europe, notes that Germany is Vestas’ largest European market.
“Acquiring Availon is a natural next step in accelerating Vestas’ profitable growth strategy in the service business,” explains Christian Venderby, group senior vice president for Vestas’ global services. “Size and scale matter, and the acquisition strengthens our capabilities to service most major turbine technologies and to capture market shares. Availon is a solid strategic fit and a great complement to our recent acquisition of UpWind Solutions in the United States.”
Just last month, Vestas bought San Diego-based ISP UpWind and its subsidiaries for EUR 55 million.
Ulrich Schomakers, CEO of Availon, says, “Vestas and Availon share the same values in terms of safety, quality, customer satisfaction and reaching the highest availability possible. Combining forces will contribute to our jointly becoming the preferred fleetwide service partner for a wider range of customers and turbine technologies. We look forward to becoming part of such a passionate and forward-looking organization.”
