Norway’s Fred Olsen Windcarrier (FOW) is looking to raise €150m ($169m) through an initial public offering (IPO) on the Oslo Børse.
The Fred Olsen Group shipowner will use the cash to fund fleet expansion as it sees offshore wind farm activity ramping up in future years. The offering involves new shares and the company will list in the first quarter.
FOW chief executive Alexandra Koefoed said: “Offshore wind energy is key to the ongoing energy transition.”
“As the activity within this industry is set to further increase in the years to come, we are confident that [FOW] will leverage on its extensive experience and trusted client relationships to further develop our already strong project pipeline.”
FOW owns three high-end purpose-built transportation and installation jack-up vessels, and is looking to order a fourth.
The company is owned by Fred Olsen Ocean, a subsidiary of Bonheur, the Oslo-listed holding company of the Fred Olsen Group.
Bonheur is a key shareholder of NHST Media Group, which owns Recharge, Upstream, TradeWinds and Intrafish among other global news titles.
Since delivery of its first vessels, FOW has installed about 20% of all offshore wind turbines globally, excluding those in China.
The owner describes itself as a “first-mover” in new markets outside Europe, such as the US and Asia Pacific.
Crane scale-up
With wind turbines increasing in size, the three ships are being fitted with bigger cranes, with the first conversion due in 2022, and the others in 2024 and 2025 after charters are completed.
FOW’s revenue in 2021 was €93.8m, with operating profit of €43.4m, compared to €17.5m in 2020. The revenue backlog stands at €355m, including options.
The IPO proceeds will fully finance the equity portion of the planned newbuilding, as well as being used for general corporate purposes.
Bonheur is committed to remaining a long-term majority shareholder and has committed to subscribe for €25m.
FOW said it has received significant “anchor” interest from Nordic institutions, international sector specialists and other local and international generalist investors.
The shipowner will join wind farm vessel companies like Wilhelmsen-backed Edda Wind and BW Group-backed Cadeler on the Børse following recent listings, as well as new shipping floats Hoegh Autoliners and Gram Car Carriers.
In January, FOW revealed three contracts for its wind turbine vessels worth up to €80m. The deals cover 300 days of work this year and in 2023.
Last summer, the Fred Olsen Group signed a cooperation deal to support Japan’s Shimizu Corp as it seeks to move into the offshore wind vessel market worldwide.
The agreement encompassed Fred Olsen Ocean and subsidiaries FOW and Global Wind Service.
· This article first appeared in Recharge’s sister shipping publication Tradewinds
