BW Sirocco Holdings AS initiated its offer on Tuesday to acquire all outstanding shares in French floating offshore wind specialist BW Ideol AS that are not currently held by the “initiating shareholders.” The recommended voluntary offer, backed by 84.7% of existing BW Ideol shareholders, including BW Offshore, Kerogen Capital, Larochette Invest SARL, and certain other investors and management, was officially unveiled on November 9.
The strategic move is geared towards delisting BW Ideol with the aim of streamlining access to growth capital. BW Sirocco Holdings, a recently established Norwegian entity, is set to be owned by the initiating shareholders, as well as any BW Ideol shareholders choosing to receive shares in the offeror. The offer presents a price of NOK 12 (USD 1.08/EUR 1.01) per share in either cash or shares, representing a substantial premium of 42.2% to the closing price on November 8. The offer period commenced on Tuesday and is slated to conclude on November 28.
BW Offshore, a key player within the maritime industry and a part of the BW Group, has held a strategic ownership position in Ideol since February 2021. In its recently published third-quarter report, BW Ideol disclosed that, as of the end of September, it had 1 GW of projects under development and a substantiated pipeline of approximately 3.7 GW.
The proposed acquisition and delisting strategy underscore a strategic shift within the offshore wind sector, emphasizing the pursuit of growth capital as a key driver for advancing projects and expanding the company's footprint in the renewable energy landscape.
