BW Ideol entered into exclusive negotiations to raise € 40 million from ADEME Investissement to co-fund the growth of its project development activities

BW Ideol AS, a global leader in floating wind, and ADEME Investissement, a state-owned French financier of innovative infrastructure projects, have agreed to enter into exclusive negotiations for a € 40 million funding by ADEME Investissement of BW Ideol’s project development activities.

Transaction highlights:

• Creation of a subsidiary for all BW Ideol’s co-development activities (“BW Ideol Projects Company” or “DevCo”)
• Initial investment of € 16.7 million by ADEME Investissement (“First Closing”)
• Further capital injections for a total of € 23.3 million based on project funding calls for each of ADEME Investissement and BW Ideol
• Around € 72 million post-money valuation of DevCo (at First Closing)
• 76.6% ownership of DevCo by BW Ideol, 23.4% ownership by ADEME Investissement (at First Closing)
• Annual service agreement paid to BW Ideol to cover DevCo’s management costs

Under the agreed terms, BW Ideol will transfer its co-development project portfolio to a newly created subsidiary DevCo, subject to approval of projects partners and tendering authorities. ADEME Investissement will invest a total of € 40 million in equity into DevCo through capital increases, with an initial € 16.7 million paid at First Closing by ADEME Investissement, and subsequent capital injections based on project funding calls with a co-financing at equal share between BW Ideol and ADEME Investissement.

Following First Closing, BW Ideol will own 76.6% of DevCo, representing a post-money valuation of DevCo of around € 72 million. ADEME Investissement is set to increase its holding over time as further projects are matured and financed. Under the agreement, BW Ideol will be responsible for DevCo’s management through a service agreement. When all funding calls are completed, each of ADEME Investissement and BW Ideol will have invested € 40 million each in DevCo.

ADEME Investissement has been granted a two-month period of exclusivity for the transaction, with a target to complete First Closing by end of Q2-2023, subject to final negotiations and approval by the respective decision bodies of BW Ideol and ADEME Investissement.

BW Ideol will retain full ownership of its other business activities and assets, including:

• its technology and related IP and know-how portfolio,
• its floater EPCI business line and the exclusivity with the Port of Ardersier in Scotland for a floater production line,  
• the Floatgen demonstrator,
• the ownership in the EolMed project,
• all the teams, including engineering, business development, project execution, supply chain, legal, innovation, finance.

“In addition to the agreement with ADEME Investissement, we have signed today a € 12 million shareholder loan with BW Offshore and Noria. With these two transactions, we expect to be fully funded to execute our business plan for the next 12 months, with no dilution on existing shareholders” said Paul de la Guérivière.

About BW Ideol
BW Ideol is a leading fully integrated platform in floating offshore wind with more than 12 years of experience from design, execution and development of floating wind projects based on our patented floating offshore wind technology and engineering capabilities. The company has a dual-leg growth strategy as a floater EPCI and maintenance services provider and as a wind-farm project developer and co-owner. BW Ideol has two full-scale offshore floating wind turbines in operation in France and Japan, a significant project pipeline, and is supported by BW Offshore's extensive experience from developing and operating offshore energy production systems.

About ADEME Investissement

Created in December 2018 as part of the Investment for the Future programme, then integrated to France 2030, ADEME Investissement SAS aims to finance in equity or quasi equity innovative infrastructure projects in the area of ecological and energy transition alongside with private investors. ADEME Investissement is 100% held by the French State and has a budget of €400 million. For more details: https://www.ademe-investissement.fr/en/

About France 2030
The France 2030 investment plan:

• Sets out a twofold ambition: sustainably transforming key sectors of our economy (energy, automotive, aeronautics and space) through technological innovation, and positioning France not only as a player but as a leader in the world of tomorrow. From basic research to the emergence of an idea and the creation of a new product or service, France 2030 supports the entire life cycle of innovation right up to industrialization.
• France 2030 is unprecedented in its scale: €54 billion is being invested so that our businesses, our schools, our universities and our research organizations fully succeed with their transitions in these strategic sectors. The challenge is to enable them to respond in a competitive way to the world’s future ecological and attractiveness challenges, and to showcase the future champions of our sectors of excellence. France 2030 is defined by two overarching objectives, which will see 50% of expenses given over to the decarbonization of the economy, and 50% to emerging key players, those at the forefront of innovation, without neglecting the environment (in the sense of the “Do No Significant Harm” principle).
• France 2030 is being implemented collectively: designed and deployed in consultation with economic, academic, local and European key players to establish strategic guidelines and decisive action. Project holders are invited to submit their entries via the current application process, which is a demanding and selective one, to benefit from state support.
• France 2030 is being led by the French General Secretariat for Investment, in charge of France 2030, on behalf of the Prime Minister, and in partnership with the relevant government ministries. France 2030 is being implemented by the French National Research Agency (ANR), the French Agency for Ecological Transition (ADEME), Bpifrance and the Caisse des Dépôts et consignation (CDC).

This information is considered to be inside information pursuant to the EU Market Abuse Regulation and subject to the disclosure requirements pursuant to Section 5-12 the Norwegian Securities Trading
Act. This stock exchange release was published by Marie Bayard-Lenoir, Communication Officer at BW Ideol, on March 22 at 12:15 CET.

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