* No clear signs of near-term recovery at Siemens Gamesa
* Siemens Energy bids 4.05 bln eur for remaining stake
* Siemens Gamesa shares +6.2%, Siemens Energy -0.8%
(Adds details on underwriters, adviser, updates shares)
MADRID/FRANKFURT, May 23 (Reuters) - Siemens Energy
warned on Monday that a turnaround at Siemens Gamesa
will take several years, adding that a 4.05
billion-euro ($4.3 billion) bid to buy out minorities of the
struggling wind turbine unit was the only way to fix the issues.
"It's nothing which will go fast," Siemens Energy Chief
Executive Christian Bruch told journalists on Monday, less than
two days after unveiling the offer. He added this meant
"multiple years of really turning" Siemens Gamesa around.
Siemens Energy has faced pressure from shareholders to raise
its stake in Siemens Gamesa from the 67% it inherited after a
spinoff from Siemens AG.
Shares of Spanish-listed Siemens Gamesa rose 6.2% to about
17.79 euros at 1518 GMT, just below the 18.05 euro-per-share
offer price. Siemens Energy fell 0.8%.
Siemens Gamesa, whose shares had fallen 20% since the start
of the year until the offer was made, had issued three profit
warnings in less than a year, dogged by product delays and
operational problems.
Most European turbine makers have also racked up losses in a
fiercely competitive market as metals and logistics prices
surged due to COVID-19, import duties and Russia's invasion of
Ukraine.
"There are not yet clear signs of a near-term recovery in
the current setup," Bruch said, adding that Siemens Gamesa's
financial performance was "really creating the need for action."
FULL CONTROL
Bruch said owning all of Siemens Gamesa would remove an
arms-length relationship and give Siemens Energy more control
over the asset as well as lead to cost savings and procurement
efficiencies.
Asked about the onshore turbine business which has caused
particular headaches, Bruch said there were no plans to sell it.
While Siemens Energy will be able to delist Siemens Gamesa
once it owns 75%, Bruch said a full integration of the division,
which was created from the merger of Siemens AG's wind business
and Spain's Gamesa, was the clear goal.
The relatively low additional stake Siemens Energy needs for
a delisting, however, is expected to provide at least a certain
hurdle against potential attacks from hedge funds that could
decide to buy in to Siemens Gamesa to push for a higher price,
industry sources said.
Under a tentative timeline, the bid, which Credit Suisse
analysts said was "disappointing," would launch in mid-September
before an extraordinary general meeting rubber-stamps it in
November, Siemens Energy said.
The funding of the deal is fully underwritten by Bank of
America and JP Morgan. Perella Weinberg Partners
is advising Siemens Energy on the transaction.
When asked why the offer was below the 20 euros Siemens paid
for Iberdrola's stake in Siemens Gamesa in 2020, Bruch
said that since then the situation at the division had
deteriorated and that the offer was attractive.
($1 = 0.9431 euros)
(Reporting by Isla Binnie in Madrid and Christoph Steitz in
Frankfurt
Editing by Edmund Blair, Emelia Sithole-Matarise and Matthew
Lewis)