BW Group-backed Cadeler has raised NOK 486m ($90m) from a private placement and said the funds will go towards further newbuildings.
The Oslo-listed wind turbine installation vessel operator said it sold a total of 26.175m shares each at a subscription price of NOK 32.32.
DNB Markets and SpareBank 1 Markets as joint managers and bookrunners for the placement, which took place through an accelerated book-building process.
BW Group subsidiary BW Altor Pte was allocated 8.4m new shares from the placement corresponding to its pro-rata ownership in Cadeler before the fundraiser.
The Singapore-headquartered shipowner now holds 52.9m shares of Cadeler, representing an ownership interest of about 32.15%.
On Wednesday, Cadeler said it was in discussions with China’s Cosco Shipyard for up to two F-class foundation installation newbuildings in a deal potentially worth up to $694m.
“We believe that there are good employment prospects for [these] newbuildings due to strong underlying demand for foundation installation whilst relevant vessel supply remains limited,” Cadeler said.
Cadeler said the discussions involved one firm newbuilding for $343m to $347m with delivery in late 2025 and an option for a second sister vessel.
“The company has an extensive track record within foundation installation, and a new F-class vessel will be the first purpose-built foundation installation vessel in our vessel portfolio,” the shipowner said.
Cadeler said it was already in discussions about potential employment for the latest newbuilding in the North Sea involving a contract that was due to start in early 2026.
In June 2021, Cadeler signed a newbuilding contract with Cosco Shipping Heavy Industry to build two new X-class wind turbine installation vessels for $651m.
The new vessels, which will be the largest in the industry, are due to be delivered in late 2024 and early 2025.
Cadeler has already secured employment for the first of these X-class newbuildings which has been contracted for one of the largest offshore wind farms in the world — the 1.4 GW Sofia offshore wind power park in the North Sea, owned by RWE.
For this project, Cadeler will assist Siemens Gamesa with the transport and installation of one hundred 14 MW wind turbines. The project will be located on Dogger Bank 105 nautical miles (195 km) from the nearest point on the UK’s Northeast coast.
Upon completion of the two X-class newbuilds, Cadeler said it will have the largest fleet in the industry in terms of loading capacity and ability to transport, service and install the next generation offshore wind turbines.
