Canada's Northland Power looking for a buyer: CFO

By Christoph Steitz HAMBURG, Germany (Reuters) - Canadian power group Northland Power is looking for a new owner, its chief financial officer said, as part of its strategic review begun in July aimed at boosting growth and shareholder value. The company, which operates thermal and renewable energy stations in Canada and Europe, is worth C$4.06 billion ($3.07 billion). "We're looking for a new owner," Paul Bradley told Reuters on Wednesday at a wind energy conference in Hamburg, adding this could also mean selling the group to a private equity firm. "But we might end up deciding that the market price is the highest and remain listed," he said, adding that a decision was planned for the first quarter of 2017. "Companies usually do this when they're not doing so well," Bradley said. "But our future is extremely positive." Northland Power expects adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) to more than double by 2018 from C$402 million in 2015, boosted by recent investments in Europe's booming offshore industry. It owns a 85 percent stake in the 332 megawatt (MW) Nordsee One wind park project in the German North Sea, with turbine installation to start in early 2017, as well as a 60 percent stake in the 600 MW Gemini park off the coast of the Netherlands. "We doubled the company on Nordsee One and Gemini," Bradley said, adding future offshore investments would account for a large part of the 200-250 million euros Northland Power plans to spend each year. Northland Power raised close to C$1 billion in capital for the two projects and Bradley said he wouldn't be afraid to tap the market for additional funds if a good opportunity presented itself. (Editing by Georgina Prodhan and Alexandra Hudson)