Cadeler acquires Menck for €501 million to expand offshore foundation installation

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Cadeler has acquired offshore foundation equipment specialist Menck for an enterprise value of €501 million, expanding its ability to provide integrated transport and installation services for offshore wind projects.

The Copenhagen based offshore wind contractor completed the signing and closing simultaneously after receiving the required regulatory approvals. Cadeler acquired Menck from UK offshore energy services group Acteon.

The transaction gives Cadeler direct access to hydraulic impact hammers, engineering expertise and equipment used to install fixed bottom offshore foundations. It also reduces the company’s reliance on subcontracted foundation installation services.

Cadeler financed the acquisition through available liquidity and a €380 million acquisition facility provided by DNB Bank and Rabobank. The company expects to refinance the facility through longer term financing and operating cash flow.

Cadeler plans to operate Menck as a standalone business, preserving its existing organisation, customer relationships and independent market position.

Menck will continue supplying equipment and services to customers across the offshore wind sector, including installation contractors that compete with Cadeler. Maintaining that broad market access forms a central part of the acquisition strategy.

Menck is headquartered in Kaltenkirchen, Germany, and operates facilities in Hamburg, Singapore, Cornwall and Cork. The business has more than 150 years of engineering experience and owns a rental fleet of hydraulic impact hammers.

Its wider capabilities include noise mitigation, drilling, grouting and specialist lifting and handling equipment. Menck has also collected more than 50 million data points from pile driving operations, providing engineering information that can support foundation planning and offshore execution.

Mikkel Gleerup, chief executive of Cadeler, said offshore wind projects were increasing in scale and technical complexity, making reliable execution more important.

“Bringing together Menck’s specialist engineering capabilities with Cadeler’s offshore installation proficiency, we are combining highly complementary strengths that will enhance our support to customers across the full installation value chain,” Gleerup said.

Cadeler owns and operates a fleet of jack up wind installation vessels and is expanding from turbine installation into full scope foundation transport and installation.

Adding Menck’s equipment gives the contractor greater control over mission critical foundation operations. Much like bringing a specialised tool supplier into the same operational platform, the acquisition could reduce interfaces between vessel planning, foundation engineering and offshore execution.

The companies already work together on Ørsted’s Hornsea 3 offshore wind project in the United Kingdom. Menck is supplying the 4,400 kilojoule impact hammer being deployed by Cadeler during foundation installation activities.

Cadeler said the combination would support more efficient deployment of foundation equipment and provide greater flexibility when scheduling complex offshore campaigns. Menck’s rental model also resembles Cadeler’s vessel based service model, with both businesses seeking high utilisation of capital intensive assets.

At the same time, Menck’s ability to work for other contractors is intended to protect its utilisation levels and existing commercial relationships across the market.

Menck expects to introduce a next generation Wind Hammer in early 2027. The equipment is being designed to install increasingly large offshore wind foundations while meeting applicable installation requirements.

Jochem Scherpenisse, executive vice president of Menck Marine Foundations, said joining Cadeler would provide greater financial flexibility to support the company’s growth plan.

“With Cadeler, we will have a strong platform to further develop our business and to continue to deliver trusted solutions to customers across the offshore wind industry,” Scherpenisse said.

The planned hammer reflects the growing dimensions of offshore wind turbines and their supporting structures. Larger foundations require higher installation energy, careful control of pile driving operations and measures to manage underwater noise.

Cadeler said combining Menck’s technology with its heavy lift installation fleet would allow it to support customers across a larger portion of the foundation installation chain, from early engineering and methodology selection through offshore execution.

Acteon will continue operating through its UTEC geo services, Intermoor moorings and anchors, and 2H engineering consultancy businesses. The group employs more than 1,700 people across 104 locations in 21 countries.

Cadeler is listed on the New York Stock Exchange and the Oslo Stock Exchange under the tickers CDLR and CADLR respectively.