Bilbao, November 24th, 2019 – Spain Oman Private Equity Fund (“SOPEF”), a fund managed by MCH Private Equity Investments, has invested and acquired a minority investment in Haizea Wind Group (the “Group”). The current shareholders will remain in the shareholding of the company.
Founded in 2o17 and headquartered in Bilbao, Haizea Wind Group is a leading manufacturing company of wind turbine components, specialised in towers and offshore foundations for the renewable wind industry. In December 2018, the Group also entered into the casting industry with the acquisition of 80% of Grupo WEC, which has two manufacturing plants in the Basque Country with additional capacity in machining and surface treatment for casting products. During the second half of 2019, the Group consolidated its activity in the onshore tower business through the acquisition of a majority stake in Tecnoaranda which was also supported by the SOPEF’s capital contribution. Tecnoarnda was founded in 2009 and is pioneer in the manufacturing of onshore towers in Spain with a large export activity.
For this new phase, SOPEF, together with the rest of Haizea Wind Group’s shareholders aim to take advantage of the important opportunities presented by the renewable wind market in Spain and internationally, mainly due to the growing institutional commitment and support for the development of the renewable energy. The Group seeks to consolidate its strategy of increasing its international presence through new production facilities as well as its objective of integrating the production of different components within the supply value chain, with the aim of becoming a TIER 1 supplier, able to provide a comprehensive service to its main clients and turbine OEMs within the wind industry.
About SOPEF
Spain Oman Private Equity Fund – SOPEF was constituted in 2018 with the ultimate objective of supporting the international development of Spanish companies through the acquisition of temporary minority stakes. The fund’s investors are COFIDES, FIEX and the State General Reserve Fund of Oman and count with a total capital commitment of 200 million euros. The fund is managed by MCH Private Equity Investments, one of the leading Iberian private equity firms focused on mid-sized companies.
The Compañía Española de Financiación al Desarrollo (“COFIDES”) is a state-owned company which has been offering financial support to Spanish companies investing abroad since 1988. It is the exclusive manager of FIEX and FONPYME funds on behalf of the Secretariat of State for Trade attached to the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Tourism. Shareholders include Banco Santander, Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria (BBVA), Banco Sabadell and CAF-Development Bank of Latin America.
Established in 1980 by Royal Decree, the State General Reserve Fund of Oman (“SGRF”) is the main investment arm of the country which acts on behalf of the Sultanate of Oman in managing and investing the surplus achieved by the state from Oil and Gas revenues as well as from any other financial reserves. The fund aims to be a substantial resource that provides financial stability and diversity to the country’s economy while ensuring the continued development of the country by investing in a diversified portfolio of asset types in about 35 countries worldwide.
About Haizea Wind Group
Haizea Wind Group is an international industrial group based in Bilbao and specialised in the manufacturing of wind towers, offshore foundations and casting components. The company operates through five production plants worldwide.
The Group’s production facilities include: i) a manufacturing plant in Bilbao’s harbour with total capacity of 300 offshore towers and 150,000 MT of offshore foundations; ii) a manufacturing plant in Argentina, Haizea Sica, with total capacity of 400 onshore sections per year; iii) two production plants of Grupo WEC in Guipúzcoa and Alava, pioneer in the casting of components for the renewable wind industry with total capacity of 36,000 tons and with additional capacity for surface treatment and machining and iv) Tecnoaranda, one of the leading companies in the manufacturing of onshore wind towers with capacity of over 1,200 sections per year.
