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Thursday, 25.04.2024, 19:28
Baltics: Latvian competition watchdog approves takeover of Nelja Energia by Estonia's Enefit Green
enefit.lv |
The Latvian competition watchdog said it had approved the takeover
because it would have no serious effect on the competition in the given market.
Enefit Green and Nelja Energia are both registered in
Estonia but indirectly own biomass-fueled combined heat and power (CHP) plants
in Latvia. Namely, Enefit Green owns Enefit Power and Heat Valka in Valka
municipality in north-eastern Latvia, and Nelja
Energia owns Technological Solutions
in Broceni municipality in western Latvia.
"Operations of both companies in Latvia overlap only in the electric
power generation and wholesale market," said Zane Gorskova, a
spokeswoman for the Competition Council, noting that the operations of the said
CHP plants did not overlap as they were supplying heat to different regions.
The Competition Council concluded that Enefit Green and Nelja
Energia together would hold a small share of the Latvian electric power
generation and wholesale market therefore the takeover of Nelja Energia will not
change the market structure, will not notably reduce competition and will not
put any company in a dominant position in the market. As a result, the Latvian
competition watchdog decided to approve the takeover.
As reported, in late May this year Eesti
Energia announced that it planned to buy Nelja Energia for EUR 289 million and will also take over Nelja Energia's liabilities worth EUR
204 million. Eesti Energia will
acquire 100 percent in Nelja Energia
from Norway's Vardar Eurus and other
shareholders.
Enefit Green owns four
wind farms with a capacity of 111 megawatts, three cogeneration plants in
Estonia and Latvia, one hydroelectric power plant and one solar power plant.
Nelja Energia owns 17
wind farms in Estonia and Lithuania with total capacity of 287 megawatts. In
addition, the company owns a pellet factory and combined heat and power plant
in Latvia and has minority ownership in two biogas stations in Estonia.