Yesterday, Danish wind turbine manufacturer Vestas announced that it has signed an agreement with Japan's Mitsubishi Heavy Industries MHI to acquire MHI's 50% stake in the offshore wind turbine joint venture MHI Vestas. In return, MHI will receive a 2.5% stake in Vestas and a board seat.
The transaction is valued at approximately 709 million euros, and the price per share is based on the weighted average price of Vestas stock prices quoted on the Nasdaq market in Copenhagen for the last five days as of October 28, 2020 (inclusive), which is 1045 Danish kroner ( (Approximately 140.34 euros), corresponding to 5049337 shares, MHI will receive 2.5% of Vestas' nominal share capital. Earlier on Thursday, Vestas shares rose 2.8% in Copenhagen to DKK 1046.50. The subscription and payment of new shares are carried out by MHI Denmark on the date of completion of the transaction.
If approved by the authorities, the transaction is expected to take place at the end of this year or the first quarter of next year.
Since its establishment in 2014, MHI Vestas has had a considerable market share in the world, but it has always been a big gap with Siemens Gamesa, the leader of offshore wind power. At the same time, the company's profitability has always been a problem. The net profit in 2019 is only 6 million euros. According to operating forecasts for the first three quarters, the company's 2020 revenue will be approximately 1.4 billion euros, and its earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) will be approximately 4%.
MHI Vestas is also lagging behind in the competition for the development of large-scale units. The largest model is the 10MW model on the V164/V174 platform. The next generation of high-power units is still in the pipeline, and Siemens Gamesa has released a 15MW model; GE's 12MW model has already started operation, and the 13MW model has also been released.
After the transaction is completed, Vestas and MHI Vestas will focus on synergies in sales, technology, manufacturing and procurement, retain their original customer relationships, reduce production costs, and establish a strong Vestas shared culture.
At the end of last year, the company has appointed Johnny Thomsen as co-CEO, Honda Ryuichiro (Kentaro Hosomi) will serve as Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Energy Systems, and Vestas CEO Henrik Andersen will also serve as chairman.