Suzlon acquires 7.7% of REpower; raises bid to €150 per share

Indian wind power major Suzlon Energy has revised its offer price for REpower Systems of Germany to €150 per share, with an acquisition of 7.7% stake in the German firm. Suzlon has purchased 627,000 shares of REpower Systems through it two step-down, wholly-owned subsidiaries, SE Drive Technik GmbH and Suzlon Windenergie GmbH. With this acquisition, the company has revised the offer price of the voluntary public tender offer to €150 from the €126 for acquiring up to 100% share of REpower. Suzlon has teamed up with Martifer, a unit of Portugal’s largest builder, Mota-Engil, to launch a bid for REpower. Martifer owns more than 25% of REpower.

Earlier in March, French nuclear power firm Areva offered €140 per share for REpower, raising its previous offer of €105 by a third, to top Suzlon’s bid of €126 per share.

Read The Economic Times article.
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Areva ups bid price for REpower to €140 / share; Suzlon mulling counter-bidding options

Areva ups bid price for REpower to €140 / share; Suzlon mulling counter-bidding options

It seems to be the seasons for biddings and counter-biddings. French energy major Areva has upped the price for acquiring Germany’s third-largest wind power company, REpower Systems AG, by putting in a counter-bid of €140 per share. Areva had earlier made an offer to buy stake in REpower at €105 per share, and its revised offer is 33.3% higher than the first bid. The new figure is 11.1% higher than the Suzlon Energy-Martifer’s offer of €126 per share. Suzlon had recently received the approval of German regulator for its bid for REpower Systems. It had offered €1.2 bn ($1.33 bn) to acquire REpower Systems.

Read the Business Standard article.
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Suzlon Energy bids $1.3 bn for German company REpower

It is learnt that Suzlon Energy is likely to revise its offer to buy out REpower. The company is in talks with a consortium of banks led by ABN-AMRO and may come out with a revised offer of close to €160 per share, which will raise the value of REpower to $1.7 bn. Areva’s revised offer has raised the value of REpower to $1.5 bn.

REpower, Germany’s third-largest maker of wind-power equipment behind Vestas Wind Systems and Enercon, reported a profit of €7.1 mn in 2006. In Germany, REpower has a 10% market share.

Suzlon Energy bids $1.3 bn for German company REpower

Suzlon Energy, India’s largest wind power company is in talks to acquire Germany’s REpower. Suzlon has made a public bid of €126 per share for REpower, in a counter-bid to Paris-based nuclear major Areva’s bid of €105 per share. Suzlon’s bid values the deal size at about $1.3 bn.

The bidding process is likely to continue for 4-6 weeks. Suzlon would fund the acquisition through a mix of debt and internal accruals. Areva is the No. 1 maker of nuclear reactors and has offered €105 per share for 70% of the German company. Suzlon’s bid is being made in partnership with Martifer, a unit of Portugal-based Mota-Engil SGPS. Martifer owns a quarter of REpower.

REpower is Germany’s third-largest maker of wind-power equipment after Vestas Wind Systems and Enercon. It reported a 9-month profit of €1 mn compared to a year-earlier loss of €8.3 mn. Martifer has a joint venture with REpower in Portugal. Suzlon and Martifer have signed a legally binding agreement, which sets out the terms for this offer. The offer will be made through BidCo, in which Suzlon holds 75% and Martifer 25% of the capital. Suzlon will finance the offer and Martifer will support it. Suzlon will seek the support of the REpower management along with Martifer for the offer and has claimed a strong interest in working with REpower’s existing management in the future.

Suzlon would retain Hamburg as the headquarters of REpower, and would create 100-200 highly qualified R&D jobs in Germany. REpower has operations in France and elsewhere in Europe, and is planning expansions in China, India and North America. Suzlon Energy is the market leader in Asia and the world’s fifth largest wind turbine manufacturer by annual installations. It is currently on a mega-expansion drive in the international market. It bought Belgium-based Hansen for $565 mn in March 2006. Suzlon is being advised on the acquisition by Yes Bank and ABN-AMRO.

Read the Business Standard and The Economic Times articles.