Premier Energy (PE), one of the biggest energy groups in Romania, has started trading on the Bucharest Stock Exchange (BVB) following its IPO where it attracted RON 695 million (close to EUR 140 million). It was the largest IPO of an entrepreneurial company at BVB in the last five years.

The company’s initial public offering of 35,937,859 new and existing shares was priced at RON 19.50 per share, implying a market capitalization of RON 2.4 billion (EUR 489.8 million) at admission. On the first day of trading, the price of PE shares rose by over 8% to RON 21.2.

“Our journey started 11 years ago when Mr [Jiří] Šmejc, the founder of EMMA Capital, and I came to Romania to try and figure out what to do with a very small gas infrastructure business. Both of us came to the same conclusion: although the business itself wasn’t anything attractive, Romania was and is extremely attractive. We realized very quickly that Romania has a lot of potential; it has natural resources; it has a large industrial base; and, most importantly, very talented professionals. We decided to take the risk and invest and I think eleven years later our investment thesis has been proven correct, which is Romania will end up being a leader in the region,” Jose Garza, Chief Executive Officer of Premier Energy, explained at the event marking the start of the trading on BVB.

“One of the lessons learned during this IPO process was not to underestimate the small Romanian investor; they were able in a period of three days to come up with almost EUR 200 million. The small Romanian investor represents a huge asset for the country and we hope there will be other companies that will follow in our footsteps,” he added.

The retail investors were allocated 20% of the shares in the IPO and, during the offer, placed orders of RON 1.1 billion for a number of 51 million shares.

“We have grown as a company to a size where it created benefits to being listed, and it was important for us, as a company that is here, in the region, in Romania and Moldova, to have the listing on the Bucharest Stock Exchange. We see a lot of growth opportunities ahead and those will be a lot easier as a public, blue chip company,” Petr Stohr, CFO of Premier Energy Group, explained for RI.

“We think there is a great opportunity for sustainable energy to be generated in Romania and, in our case, in a vertically integrated model. It is one thing to have the generation, but then you also need to have the forecasting and balancing of that energy because it’s not sunny or windy every day. There needs to be other balancing sources. We will be looking at storage to be included as part of that formula. […] In our case, it’s investing in production but in a vertically integrated model,” he added.

Premier Energy previously said it would use the proceeds of the IPO to acquire renewable energy assets in Romania and Moldova, and for capital expenditure on the development of renewable energy production assets.

The company currently has supply licenses in all of the neighboring countries and “will see how those opportunities develop,” the CFO explained. “We will look at countries outside of Romania for opportunities and we have been.”

Premier Energy Group 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 company 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 population in Moldova.

Following the acquisition of the CEZ Vânzare 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, the vast majority of which are households and small businesses. 

In the year ending 31 December 2023, the company generated consolidated revenues of EUR 912 million, a net profit of EUR 78.8 million, and an adjusted EBITDA of EUR 127.7 million.

Premier Energy was incorporated at the end of 2012, entered the Romanian gas market in 2013, and entered the Moldovan energy market in 2019.  It is currently majority owned by EMMA Capital, founded in 2012 on the initiative of Jiří Šmejc.

(Photo: Bursa de Valori Bucuresti)

simona@romania-insider.com