The European competition authorities have cleared the proposed acquisition of wind turbine manufacturer Gamesa by German engineering firm Siemens.

In June 2016, Siemens and Gamesa signed agreement to merge their offshore and onshore wind power businesses.

As per terms of the deal, Siemens will fund €3.75 per share to shareholders of Gamesa and will have 59% stake in the combined company. Gamesa's existing shareholders will hold the remaining 41% stake in the merged entity.

Siemens said the antitrust approvals have now been secured in all required jurisdictions and all the conditions precedent for the merger were satisfied.

Subject to pending closing actions, the deal is expected to complete in early April.

Siemens managing board member Lisa Davis said: "We have reached a milestone in our path to merge Gamesa and Siemens Wind Power and create a leading global wind player.

“This merger is designed to combine the complementary strengths of both companies to benefit our customers, shareholders, employees, and suppliers.”

Gamesa chairman and CEO Ignacio Martín said: "We're very pleased to have received unconditional approval from the European Commission. This is an historic moment for both Gamesa and Siemens Wind Power.”

The combined company will have headquarters in Spain. The onshore headquarters will be located in Spain while the offshore headquarters will be in Hamburg, Germany, and Vejle, Denmark.

Gamesa expects the combination to create a wind power company with a 69GW of global installed base, an order backlog of €20bn ($22.5bn) and revenue of €9.3bn.


Image: Siemens and Gamesa signed deal to merge their offshore and onshore wind power businesses in June 2016. Photo: courtesy of Siemens AG.