Swire Pacific Offshore plans to list its subsidiary Swire Blue Ocean on the Oslo Stock Exchange. The company will also undergo a thorough rebranding process and will be renamed Cadeler. The move comes on the back of significant expansion plans to upgrade the company’s vessels with bigger cranes.

The wind industry is growing at a rapid pace and a shortage of installation vessels is expected in the future. A growing number of companies is looking to accommodate the industry by ordering new installation vessels and Cadeler is one of them.

The contractor has big plans to upgrade its fleet. It intends to order a new installation vessel of GustoMSC design with an option for a second ship, and also to invest in new cranes for both the Pacific Osprey and Pacific Orca to keep up with the development of the ever-larger offshore turbines.

To realise this fleet expansion, the company requires significant capital investment which it plans to gather through the IPO. With the upgraded fleet, Cadeler wants to capture opportunities in emerging wind markets in the USA and North Asia, as well as supporting its existing partners and clients in Europe, the company states.

“Cadeler plans to expand and adapt to keep pace with the largest turbines in the market, with further capacity for the mega turbines to come. The time is right for Cadeler to access the capital markets to support this growth, given the significant interest that exists in offshore wind and renewables in general from the investment community”, comments CEO Mikkel Gleerup.

“Cadeler has a strong orderbook and excellent relationships with blue-chip customers. An IPO would position the company for the next phase of its growth and is intended to ensure that it remains a market leader”, adds Richard Sell, Chairman of Cadeler and Commercial Director of Swire Pacific Offshore.

As Swire Blue Ocean, Cadeler has developed more than 30 wind farms so far and was awarded several notable contracts this year, including the 1.5 GW turbine installation scope for Vattenfall’s Hollandse Kust Zuid 1-4 project and MHI Vestas Offshore Wind’s Seagreen project.

The IPO is planned for the fourth quarter of 2020, subject to market conditions. The terms including offering size and price range, have not yet been finalised yet.