Two of the richest families in shipping are joining forces on a newly rebranded offshore wind installation vehicle.
BW Wind Services, a subsidiary of Andreas Sohmen-Pao’s BW Group, is coming onboard as one of the main investors in a new Swire IPO.
Cadeler, formerly known as Swire Blue Ocean, is set to list on the Oslo Stock Exchange. The company owns and operates two offshore jack-up wind farm installation vessels, Pacific Orca and Pacific Osprey.
BW has subscribed for $33m in the IPO for a pre-money equity value of up to $230m. BW will have the right to elect one member to Cadeler’s board of directors and has further been granted a right of first refusal to acquire up to another 20% ownership in the company post IPO.
BW Group has spent considerable sums this year in diversifying its revenue base with an eye on future energy mixes. This has seen the company invest in an American methanol production facility and a European biogas company in the last couple of months.
Andreas Beroutsos, a senior executive at BW, commented last month: “BW Group has been focused on energy transition for some time, with prior investments in batteries, renewables, water treatment, and other technologies to address global challenges.”
The offshore wind installation sector has attracted some big hitters in recent months. Emanuele Lauro-led Scorpio Bulkers has recently signed with Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME) in South Korea for its first wind installation vessel, a ship type it intends to focus on as it quits the dry bulk sector.
