Danish offshore wind turbine transportation and installation company Swire Blue Ocean (SBO) is getting ready for listing on the Oslo Stock Exchange, to position the company for the next phase of its growth.
Also, Swire Blue Ocean, as a subsidiary of Swire Pacific Offshore, will be rebranded and renamed Cadeler.
The company said the new name would reflect the company’s Scandinavian maritime heritage "and its commitment to excellence in maritime operations."
In connection with the Mikkel Gleerup, CEO of Cadeler, said: “As an established company in the industry, with a solid pipeline of projects, Cadeler is well-positioned to consolidate its position at the top table. Cadeler plans to expand and adapt to keep pace with the largest turbines in the market, with further capacity for the mega turbines to come.
The company said that the move to become public comes on the back of the announcement of significant expansion plans to upgrade and expand its vessel fleet.
The company's Pacific Orca and Pacific Osprey jack-up units are planned to be fitted with new cranes, making them capable of handling future offshore wind turbine models currently under design by major manufacturers.
Swire Blue Ocean has also issued requests for proposals to international shipyards to construct a newbuild windfarm installation vessel, with an option for a second.
"The bespoke vessel design has been under development for some time, in conjunction with GustoMSC, based on Swire Blue Ocean’s experience of more than thirty offshore wind farm projects," the company said.
Gleerup said: "This growth will require significant capital investment and is expected to further strengthen the company’s order book and operational flexibility. In addition to supporting our existing partners and clients in Europe, the growth is intended to enable us to capture opportunities in emerging offshore wind markets in the USA and North Asia."
"The time is right for Cadeler to access the capital markets to support this growth, given the significant interest that exists in offshore wind and renewables in general from the investment community.”
The company says it has had a busy year so far, winning important contracts, including the 1.5GW turbine installation scope for Vattenfall’s Hollandse Kust Zuid 1-4 project and MHI Vestas Offshore Wind’s Seagreen project.
Richard Sell, Chairman of Cadeler and Commercial Director of Swire Pacific Offshore, said: “Cadeler has a strong order book and excellent relationships with blue-chip customers. An IPO would position the company for the next phase of its growth and is intended to ensure that it remains a market leader, offering a unique proposition in what is an exciting and rapidly expanding sector.”
Subject to market conditions, the company said, the planned initial public offering (IPO) of Cadeler is targeted for the fourth quarter of 2020, and the company has retained DNB Markets and SpareBank 1 Markets as financial advisors in this respect.
Parent company Swire Pacific Offshore intends to remain a significant shareholder in the business following the IPO.
The terms of the proposed IPO, including offering size and price range, have not yet been finalized, and the company said it would make further announcements as and when appropriate.