Eesti Energia's renewable energy company Enefit Green acquires Nelja Energia

Eesti Energia's renewable energy company Enefit Green acquires Nelja Energia

In addition, Enefit Green will take over the loans of Nelja Energia in the amount of 204 million euros. After the purchase of Nelja Energia, Enefit Green will continue investing into the expansion of renewable energy production in the Baltic Sea area countries.

“The strategic goal of Eesti Energia is to increase the share of electricity produced from renewable and alternative sources to 40% in the production portfolio of the Group by the year 2022. Besides the construction of new production units, one more way to achieve the goal is to acquire suitable companies. When a message about Vardar selling Nelja Energia came up in the beginning of the year, we were interested, because this would help us implement our strategy”, Chairman of the Board of Eesti Energia Hando Sutter said. He added that since the Government has expressed the expectation to bring Enefit Green's minority share to the stock market in Tallinn, all the interested persons will get an opportunity to take part in the growth of the company in the future. Eesti Energia will share the additional information regarding the initial public offering as soon as the preparatory works reach the corresponding phase.

"Owning Nelja Energia was a success story for us, but according to the strategy of the owner, we exit from the businesses situated abroad. Vardar's owners have decided to focus on the hydro power in Norway and the development of power production in this country. This deal will help us implement the new strategy", Thorleif Leifsen, the head of Vardar, said.

Aavo Kärmas, the manager of Enefit Green, said that acquiring Nelja Energia makes Enefit Green the fastest growing renewable energy producer in the Baltic Sea region. "Renewable energy has a great future, and we are willing to contribute to this", said Kärmas. He added that, considering the size of Enefit Green and Nelja Energia development projects in the field of renewable energy, there are many opportunities for further expansion. "We see ourselves in the future acting as a producer of renewable energy in Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, and also in Poland – in all these countries Eesti Energia also operates as a power seller”, the manager of the Enefit Green said.

After the acquisition of Nelja Energia, the amount of renewable electricity produced by Enefit Green will grow almost three times: from today’s 0,4 terawatt hour to over than 1 terawatt hour.

The final approval of the transaction requires the approval of the Estonian, Latvian and Lithuanian competition authorities.

In 2017, Eesti Energia produced in total 9736 gigawatt hours of electricity, 372 gigawatt hours of which was produced by the Group's renewable energy company Enefit Green. Enefit Green owns 4 wind farms with a total capacity of 111 MW, 3 cogeneration plants in Estonia and Latvia, 1 hydroelectric power plant, 1 solar power plant and is the producer of renewable energy that has the most diversified energy sources in the Baltic States. The company produces environmentally friendly energy from wind, biomass, water, mixed municipal waste and sun.

Nelja Energia is a producer of renewable energy in the Baltic States owning wind farms located in Estonia and Lithuania. The total capacity of the 17 wind farms of Nelja Energia is 287 MW. In addition, Nelja Energia has a minority share in two biogas power and heat cogeneration plants in Estonia. The company also owns a pellet factory and a co-generation plant in Latvia. In 2017, Nelja Energia produced 0.8 terawatt hours of electricity.

Vardar Eurus sells to Enefit Green 77% of Nelja Energia shares. The remaining 23% of shares will be acquired from Estonian investors.