As part of Vestas’ turnaround plan announced in January 2012, Vestas has been negotiating with potential buyers of Vestas’ machining and casting units.
These negotiations have now been finalised with the signing of a binding sales and supply agreement after which the German industrial group VTC Partners GmbH (VTC) will acquire Vestas’ two machining units and four casting units, including approximately 1,000 employees in Norway, Sweden, Germany, China and Denmark. The agreement is subject to customary closing conditions, including approvals from relevant authorities in China. The transaction has been agreed at a sales price of € 1 plus an earn-out element for Vestas of up to € 25 million. The divestment price implies a further write down of approximately € 50 million consisting of approximately € 20 million in assets held for sale and approximately € 30 million in net current assets, which will be included in special items in the third quarter of 2013. It is expected that the divestment will lower Vestas’ costs for casted components by around € 30 million over the next two years. Due to the additional utilisation that can be brought to the factories under VTC ownership, further cost benefits can be expected in the longer term.
