Premier Energy to Float on the Bucharest Stock Exchange

Premier Energy, one of the fastest growing vertically integrated private energy infrastructure companies in Southeast Europe and one of the largest renewable energy players in Romania and the Republic of Moldova, has announced the approval by the Financial Supervisory Authority (ASF) and publication of the prospectus for the initial public offering (IPO) of ordinary shares and for the admission to trading of its shares on the regulated market of the Bucharest Stock Exchange. The offer period started on 8 May and is expected to end on 15 May 2024.

 

Main details of the IPO

• The indicative range of the offer price has been set between RON 19 and RON 21.50 per offer share.
• The offer includes up to 35,937,859 offer shares: (i) up to 25,000,250 new shares offered for subscription by the company, and (ii) up to 6,250,063 existing shares offered for sale by its major shareholder EMMA Capital, and up to 4,687,546 over-allotted shares made available by EMMA Capital.
• The number of offer shares may be increased by up to 20% of the basic number of shares, representing up to 6,250,063 additional shares, of which 80% will be additional new shares and 20% additional existing shares. Following completion of the IPO, EMMA Capital will continue to hold a majority stake in Premier Energy Group.
• The Initial Public Offering will consist of a public offering to retail and institutional investors in Romania and an offering to eligible international institutional investors. The offering is divided into two tranches as follows: (i) 20% of the offer shares will initially be offered to retail investors and (ii) the remaining offer shares will initially be offered to institutional investors.
• The offer period started on 8 May 2024 and is expected to end on 15 May 2024. The offer price and the exact number of offer shares to be sold will be determined following the book building process during the offer period and is expected to be announced on or around 16 May 2024. Settlement is expected to take place on or around 20 May 2024. The admission of the shares to trading and the start of trading on the Bucharest Stock Exchange is expected to take place on or around 27 May 2024. The shares are expected to trade under the symbol “PE”.
• Retail investors are entitled to a discount of 5% of the final offer price for subscription orders validly submitted during the first three (3) working days of the offer period (i.e. up to and including 10 May 2024). The offer shares that are subscribed in the retail investor tranche from 11 May 2024 will be sold to retail investors at the final offer price.
• Retail investors can subscribe through BT Capital Partners, in units of Banca Transilvania and Alpha Bank, as well as through eligible participants listed on the BVB website. Further information is available on the websites of the respective banks mentioned.
• The company will use the funds raised in the offer to acquire renewable energy assets in Romania and Moldova and to cover capital expenditure incurred in the development of renewable energy assets. The company intends to distribute dividends in the amount of 30% – 70% of its consolidated annual net profit.

 

Romania, energy hub in the region

“In recent weeks, Premier Energy’s attractive investment outlook seems to have been well received by potential investors and we look forward to meetings with them in the coming days. For both Romanian and international investors, Premier Energy offers access to an energy transition investment opportunity in markets with considerable growth potential, as well as a financially strong company with ambitious plans for the renewable energy sector, a generous dividend policy and a robust approach to ESG principles,” said Jose Garza, CEO of Premier Energy.

“We see Romania as an energy hub for the region and we want to be part of the country’s sustainable development strategy,” added Petr Stohr, CFO of Premier Energy.

The company is also interested in acquisitions, i.e. distribution assets, because they offer stability to the business, Premier Energy representatives believe. They also consider that the legislative environment in Romania is stable and no different from other European countries.

 

Key facts

Premier Energy Group is one of the fastest growing privately-owned vertically integrated energy infrastructure companies in Southeast Europe and one of the largest renewable energy players in the region. The group has more than 1,000 MW of renewable electricity generation capacity owned, managed or under development in Romania and Moldova, along with one of the fastest growing renewable electricity supply businesses in both countries.

In Romania, the Group is the third largest distributor and supplier of natural gas 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 in Romania, Premier Energy Group serves a combined total of approximately 2.4 million electricity and natural gas supply customers in Romania and Moldova (an increase of approximately 1.4 million), the vast majority of which are households and small businesses.

Premier Energy Group was incorporated in 2012, entered the Romanian gas market in 2013, and entered the Moldovan energy market in 2019. The company is wholly owned by EMMA Capital, which has one of the most experienced investment teams in Central and Eastern Europe and South-Eastern Europe, with a strong growth and value creation track record and an established investment operating model.

In the year ended 31 December 2023, the group generated consolidated revenues of EUR 912 million, net profit of EUR 78.8 million and adjusted EBITDA of EUR 127.7 million.

Premier Energy Group’s business strategy is aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals with a focus on Europe’s Green Deal initiatives representing the EU’s proposals to make climate, energy, transport, and taxation policies appropriate for reducing net greenhouse emissions by at least 55% by 2030 with clear ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) guidelines and policies in place.

 

Strategic priorities

Premier Energy Group’s strategy focuses primarily on creating a sustainable future by continuing to grow through renewable acquisitions, ensuring the resilience of its energy platform, taking advantage of new growth opportunities and building on its competitive advantages and strong leadership to increase shareholder value.

 

Ambitious renewable energy plans

Premier Energy Group seeks to become one of the regional leaders in the transition to green energy, with a clear strategy to grow its renewable portfolio in line with sustainable growth and decarbonisation efforts. Premier Energy Group’s goal is to achieve an installed capacity of owned or managed renewable energy of between 1,400 MW and 1,600 MW by the end of 2026. The group expects continued investment in renewable energy assets and developments, with Romania set to deploy around 11 GW of additional wind and solar capacity to reach a total of around 16 GW by 2030.

Moldova has untapped potential from renewable sources due to favourable weather conditions and low population density.  The draft National Energy and Climate Plan confirms a target of a 27% share of renewables in final energy consumption by 2030.

 

Moldovan EU candidacy and energy market integration with deregulation

Due to Moldova’s EU candidacy and planned accession, Premier Energy Group is expecting an increase in electricity demand driven by the expected higher foreign direct investment into Moldova.

The company is targeting higher regulated absolute margin as Moldova is expected to join the EU energy market and the company also considers Moldova as a potential energy hub addressing the energy import/export opportunities to and from Romania and Ukraine.

In Moldova, the company is targeting an upside from deregulation with the expected full liberalization of the market on the supply side, which is expected to lead to increased supply side margins.

 

Seeking new opportunities for growth and diversification

Premier Energy Group aims to continue to acquire and develop renewable energy generation assets or other regulated businesses, as opportunities arise, in line with or complementary to its current business sectors.

As of 31 December 2023, the Company had a 180 MW portfolio of wind and solar developments in Romania and 24 MW of solar developments in Moldova. Additionally, Premier Energy Group has identified tangible renewables acquisition opportunities with a combined size of approximately 350 MW.

Management believes that the Company is well positioned to pursue future acquisition opportunities on a competitive basis.

 

Supporting the resilience and flexibility of the energy system

To keep its energy assets as modern and efficient as the technology allows, Premier Energy Group intends to continue investing in both Romania and Moldova to ensure network resilience and energy efficiency for the company’s business and clients, with a focus on network maintenance, new connection points and upgrades, and network digitalisation and automation.

 

Sustainable future

Premier Energy Group is committed to aligning all of its operations with the goals of the Paris Agreement and is developing a Decarbonisation Plan with the goal of achieving net zero greenhouse gas emissions from operations by 2045.

Premier Energy Group is one of the most prepared energy companies in Romania for the transition to green hydrogen and believes that this technology will be an important source of environmentally friendly energy.