(Adds detail and analyst comments) By Iain Packham Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES LONDON (Dow Jones)--Cosalt PLC (CSLT.LN) Tuesday said it bought a major stake in a unit of Danish engineering company APRO and formed a joint venture focused on the wind energy market. The provider of safety equipment for the marine, industrial and offshore markets bought 80% of Cosalt Wind Energy Ltd, previously owned by APRO and renamed following the change in ownership, from APRO for an initial payment of GBP200,000. Cosalt also agreed to a deferred payment of up to GBP430,000, depending on the unit's trading performance in the year ending Dec. 31, 2011. Cosalt said ARPO, an installer and servicer of onshore and offshore wind turbines, has contracts with many of the world's major wind turbine manufacturers, including Vestas AS (VWDRY) and Siemens AG (SIE.XE). Henrik Moeller-Jensen, APRO Chief Executive Officer said: "We have worked in the wind energy sector for many years and we know how to recruit, train and manage a large workforce of qualified wind turbine engineers. The formation of Cosalt Wind Energy Ltd. means we can now back this up with all the products and services required to operate safely and effectively in a hostile offshore environment." Cosalt said the joint venture firm has received a contract with Siemens AG (SI) to supply specialist engineers for its offshore wind turbine activities around the U.K., conveniently located near its operations, it added. Cosalt has 11 U.K. operational bases many of which offer immediate access to the wind farms being built off the U.K. coastline. Adrian Kearsey, an analyst at Evolution Securities said that crucially many of these sites are located closely to Cosalt's existing network. Therefore, this move extends its inspection and safety operation into a potentially very lucrative area. He added that although there would be no immediate term uplift to earnings, it is a significant strategic move that should materially uplift forecasts in due course. Kearsey has maintained a "Buy" rating on the stock and kept the target price at 10 pence. At 0808 GMT, shares up 0.4 pence, or 8%, at 5.1 pence outperforming a slightly higher Smallcap Market--up 0.3% -By Iain Packham and Rachael Gormley Dow Jones Newswires; 44-20-7842-9308; rachael.gormley@dowjones.com (END) Dow Jones Newswires July 27, 2010 04:53 ET (08:53 GMT)