Siemens to Acquire 25% Stake in Renewable Energy Developer

Siemens (NYSE: SI) is acquiring a roughly 25% stake in BGZ Beteiligungsgesellschaft Zukunftsenergien AG (BGZ AG).

Headquartered in Husum, Germany, BGZ AG develops, finances and operates renewable power generation facilities like wind, solar and biomass power plants. With some 140 employees as well as subsidiaries and joint ventures in Europe and the U.S., the company generated revenue of about EUR 50 million in 2008.

Regulatory approval of the transaction is still pending. The companies have agreed not disclose the purchase price

Siemens will invest in BGZ via its equity company Siemens Project Ventures GmbH (SPV). "The knowhow that BGZ has gained through long years of experience in developing wind power projects will make a vital contribution to the ongoing expansion of our renewables business," said SPV head Hans-Joachim Schulz.

"In Siemens, we’re pleased to have found a strong, international partner to help us meet our financing requirements in the high-growth market for regenerative energies. Together with Siemens, we’ll intensify our efforts to enter new markets," added Volker Friedrichsen, BGZ’s CEO, founder and main shareholder.

SPV and BGZ AG have been cooperating since 2006, when SPV and the BGZ subsidiary WKN Windkraft Nord AG established the joint venture Innovative Wind Concepts GmbH in order to develop and implement wind power projects in Central and Eastern Europe. The House of Future Energies, which BGZ initiated, provides the company with a center of competence focused on the use of regenerative energy sources. Engineers, business administrators, scientists and lawyers work hand-in-hand at the facility.

Its investment in BGZ AG marks a further step in Siemens’ efforts to strengthen its Environmental Portfolio. With green technologies accounting for slightly less than EUR 19 billion in sales or about one-fourth of its total revenue for fiscal 2008, Siemens claims to be the world’s largest supplier of green infrastructure solutions.

At the end of 2008, the BGZ group boasted an installed base of over 950 megawatts (MW) in the wind power sector alone. The Husum company’s international business, in particular, has grown substantially over the last few years.