Major scrubber manufacturer Alfa Laval is buying Norway-based weather intelligence shipping software supplier StormGeo for NOK 3.6bn ($443m).
The Swedish industrial group will add the worldwide weather forecasting company to its Marine Business Division.
StormGeo provides services to more than 2,200 customers globally in a number of industries, including oil and gas, renewable energy, utilities, aviation and shipping.
Alfa Laval said the move was aimed at adding to its decarbonising tool box and accelerating growth of its digital services.
StormGeo claims that its severe weather rerouting advice has saved its shipping customers 2.1m tonnes of fuel since 2018 and cut their CO2 emissions by 6.2m tonnes.
“Joining Alfa Laval, a world-leading industrial owner, benefits StormGeo by developing our business through increased geographic and technological expansion,” StormGeo chief executive Soren Andersen said.
Tom Erixon, president and chief executive of Alfa Laval, said: “The acquisition of StormGeo will be a strong addition to our toolbox of solutions that help our customers address the decarbonisation challenge.
“StormGeo fits excellently to our digital acceleration ambition.”
Extreme weather conditions are seen as a major outcome of global climate change, with site-specific forecasting coupled with asset-specific data seen as a way to safeguard people, assets and operations.
Lund-based Alfa Laval is listed on the Swedish stock exchange and mainly provides purifying and refining technologies to the food and water, energy and marine industries.
Private equity company EQT invested in StormGeo in 2014, which has since made six strategic add-on acquisitions, doubling customers, revenues and Ebitda. It has 24 offices in 15 countries.
