Premier Energy, one of the fastest growing privately owned vertically integrated energy infrastructure companies in SEE and one of the largest renewable energy players in Romania and the Republic of Moldova, announced on April 18 its intention to carry out an initial public offering (IPO) on the Bucharest Stock Exchange (BVB).

This will be the first IPO on the Bucharest Stock Exchange after the EUR 2 bln listing of Romanian state-owned power producer Hidroelectrica in 2023.

The offer will start after the Romanian Financial Supervisory Authority (ASF) approves the IPO prospectus.

As part of the IPO, Premier Energy is looking to raise about EUR 100 million through a capital increase, while the group’s main shareholder, Emma Capital, plans to sell shares worth EUR 25 million. The total value of the IPO will thus amount to over EUR 125 million.

Premier Energy plans to use the money raised in the IPO to fund future growth, especially in the renewables production segment.

“While we are proud to be one of the fastest growing privately-owned energy infrastructure companies in Southeast Europe, now is the right time for Premier Energy Group to conduct an IPO and to leverage the exciting opportunities for accelerated development that a public listing on the Bucharest Stock Exchange will deliver,” said Jose Garza, Chief Executive Officer of Premier Energy Group.

“As the largest renewables production manager and aggregator of solar and wind plants in Romania and Moldova, Premier Energy Group is well-placed to benefit from the forecasted growth of renewables in the region and to build on our transformational recent acquisition of CEZ Vanzare and our successful track record of accretive acquisitions. And with our vertically integrated and diversified business model allowing us to capture margin throughout the value chain and providing financial stability, we have a very attractive equity story to tell potential investors,” he added.

Premier Energy has over 1,000 MW of renewable electricity generation under ownership, management or in development in Romania and Moldova, along with one of the fastest-growing renewable electricity supply businesses in both countries.

The group is the third-largest natural gas distributor and supplier in Romania, with over 150,000 consumption points. It is also the largest electricity distributor and the largest supplier in Moldova, with almost one million consumption points and more than 840,000 supply clients serving approximately 70% of the Moldovan population. Following the acquisition of the CEZ Vanzare supply business in Romania, Premier Energy Group serves a combined total of approximately 2.4 million electricity and natural gas supply clients in Romania and Moldova.

In 2023, Premier Energy generated consolidated revenues of EUR 912 million, a net profit of EUR 78.8 million, and an adjusted EBITDA of EUR 127.7 million.

Following the IPO, Emma Capital will remain the majority shareholder of Premier Energy. Emma Capital is an investment fund founded by Czech entrepreneur Jiří Šmejc, who also serves as the CEO of PPF, the largest investment fund in the region with assets of over EUR 14.5 billion.

Citigroup, UniCredit Bank GmbH (Milan Branch), and WOOD & Company are acting as Joint Global Coordinators in connection with the Offering. Alpha Bank Romania S.A. and BT Capital Partners S.A. are acting as Joint Bookrunners. STJ Advisors is acting as Financial Adviser to the Company in connection with the Offering. UniCredit S.p.A. is also acting as ESG adviser to the Company in connection with the Offering.

editor@romania-insider.com

(Photo source: the company)