The Japanese Sumitomo Corporation is investing in the monopile manufacturer EEW Offshore.
The Japanese are reportedly acquiring their stake retroactively to 1 July in the form of a capital increase. This is being done to secure EEW’s position as the world market leader, according to the statement. Despite the new strategic partner, the Schorge and Dietze families will retain a majority shareholding.
Sumitomo Corporation, headquartered in Tokyo, is one of the largest integrated trading and investment companies in the world and employs almost 80,000 people in 65 countries. There had already been a “decades-long successful” business relationship with Sumitomo, it is said.
The completion of the transaction is still subject to the relevant EU approvals. It is expected to be completed by the end of December, provided that the legal and regulatory requirements are met.
Sumitomo invests in offshore division
EEW Pipe Solutions Holding – with production sites in Erndtebrück (EEW PPE), Korea (EEW KOREA, EEW KHPC) and Malaysia – will bundle pipe production for the oil and gas industry as well as the production of structural pipes (excluding monopiles) in the future.
As one of the main reasons for the acquisition, Sumitomo stated that the expansion of offshore wind energy in Europe is expected to increase to 164 GW by 2030 and 549 GW by 2050 and the demand for monopiles from 650,000 tons per year in 2023 to over 1 million tons per year in 2026.
EEW Offshore Wind Holding is the newly founded holding company of the EEW Group, which combines the monopile business with EEW SPC, which operates the production site in Rostock, and AWS Schäfer, which carries out the associated mechanical engineering activities.
Upon completion of the transaction, a newly established service company named EEW Management Services will take over the tasks and services of EEW Holding. In addition, the group will organise its business activities according to business areas via two further holding companies – EEW Pipe Solutions Holding and EEW AOS Holding. The existing management of the group of companies will remain in place.
