KV Ventus to acquire stake in OWEC Tower

Offshore rig designer KV Ventus has entered into a deal to acquire a 49.9% equity stake in offshore wind turbine foundation designer OWEC Tower for a total consideration of Nkr61m ($10.2m).

KV Ventus, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Keppel Corporation, signed a share purchase and subscription agreement and shareholders agreement.

Keppel Director of Group Strategy and Development Michael Chia said that offshore wind energy is rapidly gaining traction around the world and a large number of offshore wind farms are under construction and planning.

"This will result in a huge increase in demand for foundation structures," he said. "With OWEC Tower's leading design in this segment, our partnership puts us in the ideal position to capture a share of this market."

"With our experience and expertise as a leading rig builder, we see good potential in supporting OWEC Tower to meet this demand in a cost-effective and reliable manner".

"Together with our proprietary designs for offshore wind turbine and foundation installers, we are confident of further enhancing our suite of solutions for the offshore wind industry."

Norway-based OWEC Tower has developed a proprietary jacket foundation design known as OWEC Quattropod, which separates and optimises the piling and jacket installation process.

The equity interest will allow Keppel Offshore & Marine to tap into OWEC Tower's experience to develop its business in the design and construction of offshore wind turbine foundations, as well as installation and support vessels.

OWEC Tower has installed its jacket foundations at offshore wind farms, which include the Beatrice pilot test off the coast of Scotland, the German pilot project Alpha Ventus, Ormonde wind farm in the UK, and the Belgian Thornton Bank project.

Image: Keppel will draw on OWEC Tower's experience to develop its business in the design and construction of offshore wind turbine foundations. Photo: Michael Batey