Polish energy company PKN ORLEN announced a tender to buy a minority interest in an electricity distribution company, Energa Group to facilitate further effective integration of the two companies’ assets.
PKN ORLEN has offered 8.35 zloties (1.82 euros) per share to acquire a 20 per cent stake. The tender offer will open on 9 October and end on 20 November.
In April, PKN ORLEN completed the largest transaction of its kind on Poland’s fuels and energy market by acquiring an 80 per cent interest in the Energa Group. The transaction was unconditionally approved by the European Commission. PKN ORLEN and the State Treasury signed an agreement stating that the Energa Group’s strategic Capex projects will be continued and an employment policy ensuring proper operation of the Group companies will be maintained.
“We are building a strong multi-utility group capable of meeting the challenges of Poland’s energy transition,” said Daniel Obajtek, President of the PKN ORLEN Management Board adding that acquiring full control of Energa would bring measurable organisational and operational benefits.
PKN ORLEN counts on the assets of Energa Group to play a major role in supporting the group’s strategy for achieving carbon neutrality by 2050. In the next ten years, PKN ORLEN aims to reduce carbon emissions from its existing refinery and petrochemical assets by 20 per cent and reduce carbon emissions per megawatt-hour of electricity by 33 per cent by 2030.
The Energa Group owns 54 RES generation assets, mainly across the hydro, onshore wind and solar PV segments, accounting for 39 per cent of its power plants’ installed electricity generation capacity. As much as 47 per cent of its electricity output in the second quarter of 2020 came from renewable sources.
For PKN ORLEN, they represent a compelling asset portfolio that balances its conventional energy assets, including the CCGT units in Płock and Włocławek, and fits into PKN ORLEN’s plan of shifting towards zero- and low-emission energy sources.
PKN ORLEN announced its intent to participate in the project to build a power plant in Ostrołęka but on condition that the technology is changed from coal to gas. PKN ORLEN and state natural gas company PGNiG signed a letter of intent regarding potential cooperation in the construction of a steam and gas block in Ostrołęka and the development of a biogas plant.