Windfair Interview: Senvion and Centerbridge

Verena Puth, spokes person for Senvion, talks about the company's future.

Windfair: The Indian Suzlon Group announced last week that Senvion will be sold to the US Investment Fund Centerbridge. What are the exact terms of the deal? There was talk about Suzlon keeping the licenses for the Indian offshore market, but will instead release licenses for the US onshore market?

Verena Puth: The agreement foresees a 100% sale of Senvion. As the transition hasn’t been completed, there are still some open questions, e.g. the potential licensing. Senvion offers its MM series for the US market.

Senvion employs several thousand people, many of them in Germany. The company is also headquartered in Hamburg. Are job cuts expected, moreover, could the company be planning a move (to the USA)?

Centerbridge bought us, because we are successfully set up the way we are. Therefore the set-up of Senvion, our corporate structure, including all subsidiaries, will remain unchanged.

Germany remains a core market for Senvion and we have seen a huge growth over the last years. Germany is an important market as well as the right location for our engineers and some of our production sites.

Suzlon is native to the wind industry, while Centerbridge has no experience in this sector to date. Does that ultimately translate into more freedom for the future technological development of Senvion?

The acquisition by Centerbridge is no reason to change anything regarding our product or technical concept. Centerbridge has experience in the energy sector and know you need continued investments to be on the leading edge of technology. Senvion is a technology leader and Centerbridge intends to continue to keep the company on the leading edge of technology. The company has some of the strongest products in their respective market segments out there and continues to invest heavily every year in existing and new products.

Andreas Nauen, CEO Senvion SE, adds: “With Centerbridge, Senvion has gained a financially strong and committed investor – an important step to facilitate its growth track. Supported by Centerbridge, we will be able to realize Senvion’s full potential in the wind-energy market. With its product portfolio and market position, our Company is ideally placed for future development. Successful energy reform on a global level requires both onshore and offshore wind power, and Senvion has the right turbines to support both. Our objective is to continue growing profitably and to gain additional market share in our top five markets in Germany, Great Britain, Australia, Canada and France, as well as in our target markets. We also aim to maintain a strong position in the offshore sector.”