European Commission approves Siemens' acquisition of 402 MW Veja Mate wind farm

The European Commission has approved, under the EU Merger Regulation, the acquisition of sole control over Veja Mate Offshore Project GmbH by Siemens Project Ventures GmbH, belonging to the Siemens group, all of Germany.

Veja Mate is an offshore wind farm with a capacity of 402 MW being built in the German North Sea, and it is expected to produce more than 1.6 TWh of electricity per year. The project is located 95 km NW from Borkum island in the German Exclusive Economic Zone, an area with strong, steady winds. This will allow 67 Siemens SWT-6.0-154 turbines, each with a capacity of 6 MW and a rotor diameter of 154 meters, to produce enough electricity for 400.000 German homes every year. It will be connected to the power grid via the existing Borwin 2 offshore sub-station managed by TenneT, the grid operator.

Siemens is a global technology group, active – among others - in the development and financing of projects, in particular with regard to energy, health care and infrastructure. The Commission concluded that the proposed acquisition would raise no competition concerns given that Siemens already jointly controlled Veja Mate prior to the transaction. The transaction was examined under the simplified merger review procedure