By Christoph Steitz and Tom Käckenhoff
FRANKFURT/DUESSELDORF (Reuters) - Siemens Energy could face order cancellations or delays unless there is a deal with the government, banks and Siemens for around 15 billion euros ($15.8 billion) of guarantees to backstop projects, a top-20 investor said.
"There is a risk that the order book could be negatively affected without guarantees," said Ingo Speich of Deka Investment, which according to LSEG data holds around 0.5%, or $53 million worth, of Siemens Energy shares.
"In addition, orders could be held back or cancelled."
A spokesperson for Siemens Energy declined to comment on individual investor views.
Earlier on Wednesday, Denmark's Orsted said it had halted the development of two U.S. wind projects in the latest sign of turmoil in the renewables sector, problems that have also hit Siemens Energy, the world's top maker of offshore turbines.
Deka's comments come as Siemens Energy is continuing discussions to seek guarantees for performance bonds that are needed to secure its 109-billion-euro order book, mostly in the area of transmission grids and gas turbines.
Speich said Siemens Energy did not have a liquidity problem and so a capital increase, which according to sources is being routinely looked at as one possible option, made no sense at the moment.
News of the talks for help with guarantees sent the group's shares to a record low last week, following on from problems at wind turbine division Siemens Gamesa, which Siemens Energy fully acquired this year.
Speich said that confidence in Siemens Energy's management had suffered as a result of the problems at Gamesa, which came to light only weeks after the company took full control of the business, adding the board needed to regain investor trust.
So far, there have been no major management changes in the wake of the crisis at Siemens Energy, and Speich said a discussion around that would overshoot the mark at present.
"But the Gamesa takeover casts a negative light on the Siemens Energy board," he said, adding that some of the responsibility also lay with Siemens Energy's former parent Siemens AG (ETR:SIEGn), which still holds a direct 25.1% stake.
Siemens AG management board members are part of Siemens Energy's supervisory board and were also on the board of directors of Siemens Gamesa before it was downsized as part of the takeover.
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