August 9, 2012
U.S.

UTC sells Clipper Windpower to US private equity group

Andrew Lee, London | Recharge | www.rechargenews.com 8 August 2012

US industrial giant United Technologies Corporation (UTC) has sold Clipper Windpower to a private equity group.

UTC says it “has completed the divestiture of its Clipper Windpower unit to Platinum Equity” after announcing in March that it planned to sell the US-based wind turbine business.

The terms of the agreement were not disclosed by UTC, which bought Clipper in 2010 for a reported $430m.

Since then Clipper and its 2.5MW Liberty turbine have struggled to make an impact in a market dominated by pure-wind rivals such as Vestas, and global industrial groups such as GE and Siemens.

It has also shelved its highest-profile initiative, the 10MW Britannia offshore turbine project in the UK – a move first revealed by Recharge .

UTC has been disposing of non-core operations to fund its $18.4bn acquisition of aerospace engineering group Goodrich. Announcing the sale plan in March, UTC claimed that despite its problems Clipper could enjoy a viable future under new ownership.

Pratt & Whitney Power Systems (PWPS), the division of UTC of which Clipper had been part, had been working on a project for a next-generation turbine, though it is unclear what stage this had reached.

Los-Angeles based Platinum Equity confirmed the transaction to Recharge, but declined further comment, citing a policy of deferring to the seller in transactions with publicly traded companies.

On its Web site, the firm describes a strategy combining mergers and acquisitions with operational expertise to help “our portfolio companies grow their businesses and unlock their potential”. Platinum says it aims to maintain stability through acquisitions, protecting “vital business interests like customers, employees, and the supply chain”.

Platinum’s portfolio of companies covers a wide range of sectors including manufacturing, engineering, telecoms and leisure. Since its founding in 1995, it has acquired more than 130 companies with aggregate revenue at the time they were bought of $30bn.

Last week Platinum Equity completed a $750m deal to buy a majority stake in Caterpillar Logistics Services, the third-party logistics business of the industrial group.

The firm says it has $3.45bn in capital commitments raised through two Platinum Equity Capital Partners funds.

URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2012/08/09/utc-sells-clipper-windpower-to-us-private-equity-group/