Rolls-Royce has sold off its Norwegian maritime engine-making arm Bergen to British group Langley Holdings for €63m (£53m).
The completion of the sale, which was announced in August, marks another step towards Rolls-Royce’s target to make at least £2bn from asset sales as boss Warren East looks to rebuild the group’s balance sheet.
Bergen Engines employs more than 900 people globally and made around €200m (£168m) in revenues last year.
Its new owner, Langley, has its headquarters in the UK and employs around 4,600 people, with main operations in Germany, Italy, France and Britain, alongside a substantial presence in the US. It will run Bergen as a standalone business.
The sale of Bergen comes after an earlier deal with Russian group TMH Group was blocked by the Norwegian government last March.
Rolls-Royce said in an update last month that it was “firmly on course” to complete its disposals programme, with sales announced already totally around £2bn.
Mr East has been overhauling the company to strengthen its battered balance sheet, selling off assets and raising more than £5bn from issuing new debt and equity.
He also embarked on a cost-cutting programme last year including 9,000 jobs being cut worldwide, with 8,500 roles axed by the end of 2021.
Rolls crashed to a £4bn loss in March, having been hit hard by the pandemic as the crisis hammered the global aviation industry.
Ongoing woes in the sector have kept its civil aerospace arm – its largest business – under pressure, but the group said in December that it was seeing a “gradual recovery” in the division.
