Saipem seals floating wind deal

Italy’s Saipem has finalized the closing of the agreement to acquire the floating offshore wind business of France’s Naval Energies.

Saipem and Naval Energies, a subsidiary of France’s Naval Group, signed an agreement for the acquisition in early June.

The two parties have now communicated that all the conditions necessary to complete the transaction have been verified.

Saipem acquired from Naval Energies the activities in the floating wind energy sector relating to the engineering know-how of floating units, the related intellectual property rights and integrated a dedicated team of Naval Energies with expertise in modelling and simulation into its organization.

”Saipem expands its technology portfolio and further strengthens its position in the market of offshore renewables, specifically floating wind, believing that innovation and sustainability are the key to achieving climate neutrality by 2050. Saipem is therefore confirmed as a strategic partner for net Zero,” Saipem said in a statement.

The negotiations between the two companies were first reported in the Premium section at Offshore Energy back in May.

Naval Energies has more than ten years of experience in floating offshore wind and has developed a semi-submersible floater concept.

Naval Group announced at the beginning of February that it was ending its developments in the offshore renewable energy sector by starting a process aimed at the cessation of Naval Energies’ activities, including the search for a buyer for all or part of the company’s activities.

Saipem is also developing the HEXAFLOAT floating wind foundation project with the compatriot Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (CNR).

Apart from floating wind, Saipem is actively involved in several fixed-bottom offshore wind projects in France, including Calvados, Saint-Brieuc, and Fécamp.