Rumors flew yesterday that China Ming Yang Wind Power Group Ltd. (NYSE: MY) was looking to buy out Vestas Wind Systems (PINK: VWDRY) of Denmark—news that sent Vestas’ stock shooting high.
The deal was estimated to be about $2.5 billion and completed as soon as October, according to Caixin.
Vestas rose on Monday, overcoming a sustained 77 percent drop over the past year, only to fall 7.95% on Ming Yang’s announcement that this was not confirmed.
From Bloomberg:
“This is not happening so far,” Li Ruixiang, deputy director of the Guangdong-based company’s news office, said by phone yesterday.
Falling prices for turbines and excess capacity across many nations have hurt many firms including Vestas, General Electric Co., and Siemens.
HSBC also just recently demanded that Vestas submit debt restructuring plans in view of their climbing deficits.
Just last June, Vestas sold off a Danish turbine-tower factory to Titan Wind Energy Suzhou Co., abandoned plans for a UK offshore plant, and shut down a Chinese facility—all in an effort to save costs.
Heinz Steffen, an analyst at Fairesearch GmbH & Co., told Bloomberg:
“Due to the weak performance in the first quarter, the company’s restructuring mode and the new CFO, the credit banks of Vestas may be tempted to ask the company to raise more capital to reduce their own risk. If the present situation and weak market continues, sooner or later they may be forced to do something.”
But even this has not been planned yet, said Vestas spokesman Mikkel Friis-Thomsen. Though Vestas is suffering, it has not constructed an angle for a rebound.
