Renewable

February 3 (Renewables Now) - Offshore wind turbine installation company Fred. Olsen Windcarrier ASA (FOWIC) on Thursday unveiled plans to launch an initial public offering (IPO) as it is looking to order a fourth installation vessel to add to its existing fleet of three jack-ups.

The Oslo-based business, which is part of Fred. Olsen Ocean Ltd, a subsidiary of Norwegian group Bonheur ASA (OSL:BON), seeks to list on the Oslo Stock Exchange, expecting to start trading in the current quarter.

The IPO is set to include a primary offering to raise gross proceeds of about EUR 150 million (USD 170m), which FOWIC will use to fund the equity portion for the newbuilding it wants to order, as well as for general corporate purposes.

Bonheur intends to remain a long-term majority shareholder and to subscribe for EUR 25 million in the IPO. FOWIC said it has also received significant anchor interest from investors, including Nordic institutions and international sector specialists.

The contractor says it has installed some 20% of the world’s offshore wind turbines, excluding China. As offshore wind turbines are becoming larger, it is currently implementing an investment programme to upgrade its three vessels. The vessel Bold Tern will complete its upgrade in the second quarter of 2022, with the other two to be upgraded in 2024 and 2025 after completing several transportation and installation (T&I) projects.

FOWIC said it is seeing increased demand and adding a fourth vessel will allow it to raise its market share in an expanding market.

As of January 2022, the company has a revenue backlog of EUR 355 million, including options accounting for 18% of the backlog, for the years 2022, 2023 and 2024.

(EUR 1 = USD 1.132)

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