- Region: Europe
- Environment
- Manufacturing and Services
- Equity Investment
April 1, 2014
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The Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC; Governor: Hiroshi Watanabe) signed on March 31 a shareholders agreement with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (MHI) and MHI Holding Denmark ApS (MHD), its subsidiary in the Kingdom of Denmark (Denmark), to acquire shares of MHD. JBIC plans to acquire a maximum of EUR132 million worth of preferred shares of MHD.
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In this agreement, JBIC supports through the acquisition of preferred shares of MHD an offshore wind turbine business to be undertaken by a new joint venture company incorporated in Denmark, MHI Vestas Offshore Wind A/S (hereafter the "JV"), which MHI established today with Danish company Vestas Wind Systems A/S (Vestas).
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There are significant expectations for the growth of the offshore wind power generation market, especially in Europe where it is backed by renewable energy harnessing policies in Great Britain, Germany and other countries. The JV has the firm vision to establish itself as a global leader bringing together the wisdom of the all-around technological strengths and creditworthiness which MHI has cultivated in the past as a manufacturing company in the field of power system plants and the abundant experience and technologies held by Vestas, through taking over the development of the new larger scale offshore wind turbine*1. In the next stage, the JV will explore the possibilities of integrating the MHI "hydraulic Digital Displacement® Transmission" (hydraulic DDT drive)*2 technology into the new platform which would make the JV positioned to offer a product line-up variety that best suits customer demands. JBIC will support MHI's business deployment mentioned above by utilizing the equity participation function and will contribute to maintaining and improving the international competitiveness of Japanese industries.
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As Japan's policy-based financial institution, JBIC will continue to support overseas business deployment of Japanese companies, by drawing on its various financial facilities and schemes for structuring projects including its function of equity participation, and performing its risk-assuming function.
Note
- *1 8MW gear type wind turbine.
- *2 A hydraulic DDT drive was developed jointly by MHI and Artemis Intelligent Power, Ltd. (Artemis), a British venture company acquired by MHI in 2010, based on the digitally-controlled hydraulic system of Artemis and funded by the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO) and others. The features of the DDT drive train are expected to be the ease to scale up the design, high efficiency, reliability and cost competitiveness with such factors as standardized hydraulic equipment as well as materials. Digital Displacement® is the trademark registered under Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd.