DPE sells Availon to Vestas

• Seven years of expansion as a service provider in Europe and the USA
• Wind farm portfolio with total capacity of 2.6 GW under contract
• Vestas accelerating its growth in the area of maintenance services

Munich, Germany, 27 January 2016. Deutsche Private Equity GmbH (DPE) has sold Availon Holding (Availon) to the Vestas Group (CPH:VWS) based in Denmark. Availon is a leading provider of maintenance services for the wind power industry. The company has wind turbines under contract with a total capacity of more than 2.6 GW. Availon provides services ranging from repairs to the remote monitoring of wind turbines, and develops its own upgrades to ensure that its turbines under management generate an optimum energy yield. While Availon’s core market is Germany the company is also active in Austria, Italy, Portugal, Spain, Poland and the USA. Availon generated revenues of approximately €60 million in 2015 with a workforce of around 400 employees. Christian Venderby, Group Senior Vice President, Vestas Global Service: ‘Acquiring Availon is a natural next step in accelerating Vestas’ profitable growth strategy in the service business. Size and scale matter and the acquisition strengthens our capabilities to service most major turbine technologies and to capture market shares. Availon is a solid strategic fit and a great complement to our recent acquisition of UpWind Solutions in the United States’.

Seven years of expansion as an independent service provider

DPE invested in the SSB Group in July 2008 in order to exploit the immense growth opportunities in the global wind power market. DPE sold its wind systems division, a market leader in the segment of electrical pitch systems, to Emerson Electric Co. in 2009. Since then, DPE has steadily expanded its service business under the Availon brand. ‘Our strategic focus was initially on Germany and certain European markets, but we have gone on to successfully expand into the US,’ says DPE partner Volker Hichert. Availon represents a typical DPE growth story. Hichert: ‘As with SSB Wind Systems, Iloxx, SLM and Interschalt, we have developed a niche service provider which is strategically relevant to large, established market players.’

The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions, including approval from relevant competition authorities. Closing is expected to take place in the first quarter of 2016.