Nazca acquires a majority stake in Eolos to accelerate its growth plan

• Founded in 2014 in Barcelona, Eolos is one of the global leaders in the collection and sale of metocean data for the offshore wind power generation industry, obtained through its own floating LiDAR platforms.
• Nazca’s entry represents an injection of new funds into the company to accelerate its international growth plan and consolidate its position in the growing offshore wind energy sector.
• The project will continue to be led by Rajai Aghabi, CEO and founder of the company.

Barcelona, 2 December 2022.

Eolos Floating Lidar Solutions (Eolos), one of the pioneers and global leaders in providing metocean data for the offshore wind industry, has given entrance in its capital to Nazca Capital, a company focused on investing in small and medium-sized unlisted Spanish companies. The transaction has included the acquisition of a stake from financial shareholders and the injection of €12 million to accelerate its growth plan in the coming years.

Eolos is one of the global pioneers in the collection and sale of metocean data (meteorological, environmental and marine) for the offshore wind industry, measured through proprietary floating platforms equipped with state-of-the-art LiDAR technology – to measure wind characteristics –  and other advanced sensors for the characterisation of ocean currents, waves, water quality, marine fauna and birds, among others. This data is critical for the design, construction and operation of the wind energy farms and is accurately measured during campaigns of twelve to twenty-four months, processed and transferred to its clients, which are first level global private developers (i.e. Iberdrola, Equinor, Orsted…) and other institutions.

Eolos is one of the only two global operators to have attained Carbon Trust’s Stage 3 certification, the most rigorous in the industry, attesting the high reliability and accuracy of its data collection and sale service.

With a track record of more than 30 measurement campaigns developed in 10 countries in Europe, Asia and the US, Eolos has grown at annual rates of more than 40% to reach revenues close to 10 million euros in 2022, with EBITDA margins over 20%.

Offshore wind is one of the most promising renewable energy generation technologies, with double-digit annual growth expected to reach 260GW installed globally by 2030 and 730GW by 2040. Drivers for the industry include public and private initiatives to reduce carbon emissions, its growing competitiveness, and its particular advantages such as the higher quality of the offshore wind resource, lower visual impact, the possibility of larger turbine and farm scales, and the availability of regions suitable for offshore farms with both fixed and floating wind turbines.

The project will continue to be led by Rajai Aghbai, CEO and founder of the company, with more than 15 years of experience in the sector who will maintain his position as shareholder and CEO.

In the coming years, the company expects to continue growing at annual rates of over 40%, tripling its current fleet of floating LiDAR platforms in less than four years to expand its capacity to provide metocean data, while maintaining investment in R&D to strengthen its data acquisition and processing technologies. In addition, it will selectively analyse potential international acquisitions and develop new business lines to enter the operation and maintenance stages of offshore wind farms.

Nazca will bring to Eolos its experience in developing both organic and inorganic growth projects, as well as the development of new business lines with the goal of consolidating Eolos‘ position in the industry.

According to the founding partners of Eolos:

“Nazca’s entry in Eolos is a very important milestone for us, as it consolidates the company’s successful track record in recent and provides the necessary tools to implement its ambitious growth and diversification strategy“.

According to Carlos Carbó and Celia Pérez-Beato, partners at Nazca Capital:

“Eolos’ project fits perfectly with Nazca’s investment strategy as it is a company with an international leadership position, a technology-based business model, a solid team and an ambitious growth project in an industry with attractive dynamics and aligned with our ESG criteria”.

PWC, Wood PLC, Norgestión, Pérez Llorca, CFI Group, and Avego Abogados have advised on this deal.

About Nazca

Nazca is a Private Equity firm specialized in the Spanish mid-market. Nazca leads its market segment, both by volume of deals and profitability. Since 2001, it has accomplished 90 transactions and currently has 13 companies in the portfolio. This deal confirms Nazca’s positioning in niche companies focused on innovation and sectors with high growth potential. For more information, visit www.nazca.es