In a move that brings to early fruition the efforts of Babcock Borsig AG to create a 'group saving company', the Japanese concern Babcock-Hitachi KK has bought a 90 per cent controlling interest in Babcock Borsig Power Systems.
It also creates a new force in the European power plant market. Chairman of BB AG Horst Piepenburg described the move as a logical concept, bringing a strong player into an energy market set to expand substantially in the coming years.
The transaction is expected to be finalised by March 31, although its terms are being kept secret for the present. But it is already apparent that this early move by BHK has strengthened the BBPS position considerably and therefore that of its service division. BB creditors' trustee Helmut Schmitz is now looking for what is described as 'a strong partner' for the BBPS service business, and has been enabled by BBPS' stronger standing, and what he calls the persuasive conception of BBPS, to commence negotiations with investors.
The sale is another twist in the long running saga of the Babcock name. BBPS and BHK spring from the same source, Babcock and Wilcox Ltd (BWL), established in London in 1891. Deutsche Babcock was founded in 1898, and Zenma Works Co in 1908 as a subsidiary of BWL. In 1953 Hitachi Ltd and BWL set up Babcock-Hitachi KK which was merged with the independent Hitachi Boiler in 1965, and later acquired by Hitachi solely when they bought out BWL's stake in 1987. BWL sold its stake in Deutsche Babcock in 1975.
•BBPS and Babcock-Hitachi have tendered for the construction of BOA 2 , in Neurath, a high efficiency lignite plant. Bacock Borsig Power constructed the 43 per cent efficient BOA 1 located in Niederaussem.
Linkedin
