Ambienta Buys 35% Stake in FoundOcean as Offshore Wind Grows

Ambienta SGR SpA, an Italian private-equity company that focuses on environment-related companies, agreed to invest 10 million euros ($12.6 million) in the U.K. offshore wind engineer FoundOcean Ltd., in anticipation of 50 percent revenue growth as Europe promotes the use of turbines at sea.

Ambienta will buy 35 percent of FoundOcean’s equity, the Milan-based company said today in an e-mailed statement.

Private-equity companies are showing interest in businesses that service offshore wind farms, as Europe installs turbines at sea to curb emissions. Riverstone Holdings LLC bought Seajacks International Ltd., a jack-up vessel operator, before selling it to Marubeni Corp. (8002) in March.

FoundOcean, based in Buckinghamshire, England, provides subsea and offshore foundation grouting to the offshore wind and oil and natural-gas industries. The company’s sales doubled to 12 million pounds ($19 million) last year from 2009, driven by new offshore wind contracts.

FoundOcean’s customers include the German utility RWE AG (RWE) and it expects revenue to increase by 50 percent this year, according to the statement.

“FoundOcean is well positioned to continue its growth, capturing market share in offshore wind and expanding internationally into key markets,” Ambienta Chief Executive Officer Nino Tronchetti Provera said in the statement, citing Germany and areas in Africa and Asia.

To contact the reporter responsible for this story: Sally Bakewell in London at Sbakewell1@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Reed Landberg at landberg@bloomberg.net