GE, the world’s leading Digital Industrial company, announced earlier this month that it had completed the acquisition of Denmark-based manufacturing company LM Wind Power for an agreed upon price of €1.5 billion ($1.65 billion).
Announced last week, the two companies revealed that the transaction had been completed, following regulatory approval in the European Union, the United States, China, and Brazil. The acquisition will allow GE to in-source its own wind turbine blade design and manufacturing.
The world’s longest wind turbine blade, manufactured by LM Wind Power, 2016
LM Wind Power has over three decades of experience designing and manufacturing wind turbine blades, boasting that every fifth turbine in the world is currently fitted with LM Wind Power blades — including thousands of onshore and offshore GE wind turbines. The two companies have had a long-standing partnership, and the acquisition was always the next logical step for GE, which seeks to increase its own position in the wind energy industry. LM Wind Power is also well-known for, in June 2016, unveiling the world’s longest wind turbine blade in partnership with Adwen.
GE is currently the second largest wind turbine manufacturer behind Vestas, according to figures published separately by MAKE Consulting and Bloomberg New Energy Finance. The sale was first announced in October of last year, with Doughty Hanson, the European private equity firm, agreeing to sell its stakes in LM Wind Power Holding to GE.
“The completion of the LM Wind Power acquisition provides us with the operational efficiencies necessary to support the growth of our wind turbine business, which is the fastest growing segment of power generation,” said Jérôme Pécresse, President and CEO of GE Renewable Energy. “With LM’s technology and blade engineering, we are now able to improve the overall performance of our wind turbines, lowering the cost of electricity and increasing the value for our customers. Together, we are set to capitalize on the expansion of renewable energy and be a growth engine for GE.”
“LM Wind Power has had a long-standing partnership with GE that has yielded many innovations and commercial successes, including the installation of the first-ever offshore wind farm in the United States,” added Marc de Jong, CEO of LM Wind Power. “We see many digital and advanced manufacturing technology capabilities that will help accelerate our technology development and increase our customer reach.”
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