Centerbridge’s Senvion plans Frankfurt listing in first half of 2016: Reuters

German wind turbine maker Senvion plans to list on the Frankfurt stock exchange in the first half of this year, it said on Monday, seeking funds to finance expansion overseas.

The initial public offering will be in the form of a private placement of existing shares to institutional investors.

Senvion Chief Executive Juergen Geissinger did not specify the IPO size or the stake size to be sold but said Centerbridge would remain the majority shareholder following the IPO.

Sources had told Reuters in November that buyout firm Centerbridge, which bought Senvion from India’s Suzlon in January last year, was preparing a listing potentially valuing the company at 1.5 billion euros.

“We believe that gaining access to the capital markets will support our growth path, increasing the global profile of Senvion as we expand into new markets,” Geissinger said in a statement, adding the group was eyeing South America for future growth.

Deutsche Bank, Citigroup and JP Morgan have been appointed joint global coordinators and joint bookrunners. Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Barclays, Berenberg and Morgan Stanley have been mandated as additional joint bookrunners, while Rothschild is advising Senvion.

The wind power industry has seen a wave of consolidation as it matures, and has become competitive with fossil-fuels in some markets, after years of overcapacity and efforts to cut costs.

Senvion’s slightly bigger German rival Nordex took over Spanish firm Acciona‘s wind operations, while Siemens and Spain’s Gamesa are in talks about how to merge their wind units.

Senvion, formerly known as Repower, said its sales, on a pro-forma basis, totalled 2.14 billion euros in 2015, and adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) came in at 210.4 million euros.

Listed European peers trade at an average EV/EBITDA ratio of 7.9 times, according to Thomson Reuters data, which would give Senvion an enterprise value of 1.66 billion euros. ($1 = 0.9075 euros)

(Reporting by Christoph Steitz; Editing by David Evans and Susan Fenton)