Rolls-Royce (OTC: RYCEY) announces the completion of the sale of our Bergen Engines business to Langley Holdings plc for an enterprise value of €63m. The completion of the transaction, which was announced on 3 August 2021, follows the conclusion of work to separate the business from the Group.
Sale proceeds of €91m from the transaction, together with €16m of cash held within Bergen Engines which has been retained by Rolls-Royce, will be used to help rebuild the Rolls-Royce balance sheet in support of our medium-term ambition to return to an investment grade credit profile. In 2020, Bergen Engines generated revenues of approximately €200m with the assets and liabilities of the business presented as held for sale in the Rolls-Royce Holdings plc consolidated balance sheet.
Glasgow, Scotland, November 10, 2021 – Embraer (NYSE: ERJ) incubator Eve Urban Air Mobility Solutions, Inc. (Eve), an Embraer company, and Wideroe Zero signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). This partnership aims to develop Urban Air Mobility (UAM) solutions, with a focus on deployment of eVtol operations in Scandinavia.
The relationship between the two organizations began in 2017, when Wideroe signed an order for up to 15 E190-E2. The largest regional airline in Scandinavia is also the launch customer of the new generation E-Jets E2 family, starting the E190-E2 operations in April 2018 in Bergen, Norway.
Now, with the creation of the Air Mobility Business Incubator, Wideroe Zero, the companies will use Eve’s zero-emission and low noise footprint eVTOL vehicle to develop a new concept of operation where passengers will experience the future of electric transportation and a new model of sustainable mobility, connecting people living in a sparsely populated region and challenging geography.
As part of this collaboration, Wideroe Zero will contribute to a market readiness exercise and a vehicle concept of operation study in Scandinavia, furthering Eve’s development of the UAM market in the region.
Rolls-Royce has signed an agreement to sell the Bergen Engines medium speed gas and diesel engines business to TMH International, the international branch of TMH Group, for net proceeds of approximately EUR 150m.
TMH Group, based in Russia, is a leading engineering company in rail transport technologies and the world’s fourth largest supplier of rail rolling stock. It offers a full range of products and services including medium-speed engines for rail applications with current production of more than 850 engines a year. Established in 2002, TMH is privately-owned and employs 100,000 people across 25 sites worldwide. The acquisition of Bergen Engines, based in Bergen, Norway, is part of TMH’s strategy to diversify its business activities, expand its product portfolio and international footprint.
Bergen Engines will be operated as a stand-alone business by TMH International, which is headquartered in Switzerland. TMH International already operates in Argentina, Cuba, Egypt, Germany, Hungary, Israel and South Africa.
The agreement follows a strategic review by Rolls-Royce of Bergen Engines announced in February 2020. The sale includes the medium speed engine factory, service workshop and foundry in Norway; engine and power plant design capability; and a global service network spanning more than seven countries. Since 1946, Bergen Engines has supplied over 7,000 engines to marine and power generation customers worldwide, of which around 4,000 are still in operation. Bergen Engines’ long-term relationship with Kongsberg Maritime, distributor of Bergen medium speed engines to the maritime market, is planned to continue as is.
Rolls-Royce has signed an agreement to sell the Bergen Engines medium speed gas and diesel engines business to TMH International, the international branch of TMH Group, for net proceeds of approximately EUR 150m.
Bergen Engines plant in Hordvikneset near Bergen, Norway
TMH Group, based in Russia, is a leading engineering company in rail transport technologies and the world’s fourth largest supplier of rail rolling stock. It offers a full range of products and services including medium-speed engines for rail applications with current production of more than 850 engines a year. Established in 2002, TMH is privately-owned and employs 100,000 people across 25 sites worldwide. The acquisition of Bergen Engines, based in Bergen, Norway, is part of TMH’s strategy to diversify its business activities, expand its product portfolio and international footprint.
Bergen Engines will be operated as a stand-alone business by TMH International, which is headquartered in Switzerland. TMH International already operates in Argentina, Cuba, Egypt, Germany, Hungary, Israel and South Africa.
The agreement follows a strategic review by Rolls-Royce of Bergen Engines announced in February 2020. The sale includes the medium speed engine factory, service workshop and foundry in Norway; engine and power plant design capability; and a global service network spanning more than seven countries. Since 1946, Bergen Engines has supplied over 7,000 engines to marine and power generation customers worldwide, of which around 4,000 are still in operation. Bergen Engines’ long-term relationship with Kongsberg Maritime, distributor of Bergen medium speed engines to the maritime market, is planned to continue as is.
Bergen Engines has been a part of Rolls-Royce since 1999 and has approximately 950 employees, with the majority based in Bergen, Norway. In 2019 the business generated revenues of £239m which were consolidated within the results of our Power Systems business.
The transaction has been approved by the boards of both Rolls-Royce and TMH and is expected to close in the second half of 2021.
A year ago, at 7:35 a.m. in Bergen, Norway, the E190-E2 took off with 114 passengers on board. It was the first commercial flight of the second and latest generation of commercial jets of Embraer, the E-Jets E2.
The aircraft, gracing the colors of Widerøe, the largest regional airline in Scandinavia, completed flight WF622, which ended at 9:35 a.m. in Tromsø.
At the helm was Espen Bergsland, the airline’s chief pilot, and Embraer pilot Celso Fonseca, this flight marked the starting point for Widerøe’s aircraft transition – from turboprops to jets – and a change in passenger comfort.
With the intention of extending the connections between north and south Norway, as well as exploring new international routes, Widerøe decided to expand its operations by incorporating jets that can seat 110 to 120 passengers. Embraer’s new E2 Jets fit the bill.
In November 2016, representatives of the Norwegian airline visited the manufacturer’s headquarters in São José dos Campos, in the suburbs of São Paulo, to see and assess the aircraft. Three months later, the company announced it was acquiring three E190-E2 and the purchase rights for another 12 jets of the E2 family.
In February 2018, the E190-E2 was certified to conduct commercial flights by the Brazilian National Civil Aviation Agency (ANAC), the Federal Aviation Administration of the United States (FAA), and the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA).
This victory, a triple and simultaneous certification, was recently repeated. On April 15, 2019, the E195-E2, the largest commercial aircraft ever developed by the Brazilian company, also received the triple permission.
The delivery of the first E190-E2 took place on April 4, 2018 at a ceremony held at the Embraer plant in São José dos Campos, São Paulo. After five days, captains Fonseca, Bergsland and Endre Berntzen took off to Norway. On the journey, they stopped at Recife, Las Palmas (Spain), Aberdeen (Scotland) and arrived in Bergen on April 12th.
The aircraft was welcomed to the Norwegian city with a party. Political and aviation officials, the press and employees attended a dinner with music, a Brazilian martial arts (Capoeira) show, a play and other attractions.
During the entrance of the E190-E2 into the Widerøe hangar, a local opera singer sang one of the songs from the Bachianas Brasileiras series written by Brazilian composer Heitor Villa-Lobos. “The ceremony was very beautiful. It included cultural aspects of both Norway and Brazil, as if a bond were forming,” said Fonseca.
So, on April 24th, Bergsland and Fonseca piloted the new aircraft from Bergen to Tromsø for two hours. The aircraft took off with the maximum capacity of passengers – regular passengers, leaders and employees of the companies involved – and made a calm flight to its final destination.
“This flight represents increased connectivity between the north and south of the country on one of the longest routes of the Widerøe network, increasing the number of passengers per flight and bringing greater speed and comfort to Norwegian citizens,” explained Daniel Balducci, manager of Embraer’s customer accounts.
When the E190-E2 landed and arrived at the gate, it was met with the traditional water jets. Slices of cake were offered to all the passengers at the landing gate.
“On the way out, we heard positive comments about the cabin’s low noise level. Afterwards, I even read an article written by one of the passengers on a blog saying that he felt like he was inside an electric car during the flight,” said Fonseca. “The Widerøe pilots also liked the plane very much and found it very easy to pilot.”
By placing the first E2 model commercially in the skies, the Norwegian airline officially started its transition from turboprop to jet aircraft.
