Energy, Energy Market, Estonia, Markets and Companies, Mergers and take-overs
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Friday, 29.03.2024, 02:08
Estonian competition watchdog grants Enefit Green permission to buy Nelja Energia
Hando
Sutter, CEO of Eesti Energia, said
that buying Nelja Energia is in
line with the company's strategic objectives to increase the production of
renewable energy.
"Our goal is to produce 40% of electricity from renewable and
alternative sources by 2022; compared to today, that is a growth by several
times and a fairly ambitious objective. Meanwhile, all states by the Baltic Sea
are increasing their share of electricity production from renewable sources,
several tenders for developers are to be expected and we have good
prerequisites for being part of new development projects," Sutter was quoted
in a press release as saying.
"In the future, we hope to offer an opportunity for everyone
interested to be part of the company's growth story and success through the
public offering of shares," Sutter added.
Enefit Green's CEO Aavo
Karmas said that Enefit Green is
a rapidly growing renewable energy company in the Baltic Sea region.
"The addition of Nelja
Energia's assets, competencies and development portfolio makes us a strong
renewable energy company. Our development will not be limited to the transaction
and we also intend to invest in the production of electric power from renewable
sources in the future. Given the projects in the development portfolio, we have
truly great potential for growth throughout the Baltic states and in other
Baltic Sea countries where Eesti Energia
operates," he said.
The shareholders of Enefit Green
and Nelja Energia signed the contract
for the purchase and sale of the shares of Nelja
Energia on May 29 this year. The value of the shares was 289 mln euros; in
addition, Enefit Green will take over
the loans of Nelja Energia in the
amount of 204 mln euros. 77% of the shares of Nelja Energia belonged to Vardar
Eurus, which is a company owned 90% by Norwegian local authorities and 10%
by NEFCO. 23% of Nelja Energia's
shares belonged to investors of Estonian origin.
The Latvian Competition Authority approved the transaction in July of
this year, while coordination from the Lithuanian Competition Authority arrived
in August. The transaction was finalized on November 7 after the approval from
the Estonian Competition Authority. The buyer was counselled in the preparation
and implementation of the transaction by Swedbank Corporate Finance, Ellex Raidla Law Firm and consultation companies PricewaterhouseCoopers and AF.
Enefit Green is a
renewable energy company owned by Eesti
Energia, which produces electricity and heat from wind, water, biomass,
solar and mixed municipal waste.
With the acquisition of Nelja
Energia, a pellet factory in Latvia and minority shareholdings in bio gas
stations and wind turbine maintenance repair companies located in Estonia are
added to Enefit Green's production
portfolio, in addition to wind farms. After the transaction is finalized, the
company will own a total of 398 MW of wind power capacity in the Baltics. The
company also owns a total of 25 MW of power generation capacity and 85 MW of
heat production capacity in co-generation stations from renewable sources. The
electricity production of Enefit Green
will increase almost three-fold and exceed the limit of 1 terawatt hour
following the acquisition transaction.