Alstom already had gas, hydro and nuclear projects in the fold - now it's added wind to its energy portfolio.
The French-based engineering company has announced the purchase of the Spanish wind turbine company - Ecotècnia - for $471.1 million.
According to the Alstom Web site, Ecotècnia, headquartered in Barcelona, designs, assembles and installs a wide range of onshore wind turbines spanning 640 kilowatts to 2 megawatts. It is currently developing new wind turbines with a capacity of up to 3 megawatts. The company has taken a significant part of the development of the Spanish wind energy market, which is ranked second in Europe, and currently generates about 50 percent of its sales from other European countries.
The Spanish company has installed or is installing more than 1,500 wind turbines in 72 wind farms, totaling a capacity of 1,433 megawatts. Ecotècnia also has recently become involved with the solar panel market in Spain.
Ecotècnia employs 765 people. Its five factories in Spain are located in Coreses (the Zamora region), Somozas and Rio de Pozo (Galicia), Bunuel (Navarre) and Pla de Santa Maria (Catalonia).
Alstom's acquisition of Ecotècnia will be finalized once the legal consultations and the procedures necessary to modify the company's structure have been successfully completed. Ecotècnia is currently a cooperative and will be transformed into a limited liability company prior to the planned acquisition by Alstom.
Alstom CEO Patrick Kron told Forbes.com Tuesday Alstom would not rule out other acquisitions in the renewable energy market, "or in any other of the activities" in which it already operates.
“This acquisition, when completed, will consolidate Alstom's position as the company with the broadest and most complete range of products and systems in power generation,” Kron was quoted as saying on Forbes.com.
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