innogy signs contract to acquire Belectric solar & battery
innogy SE will take over German solar and battery specialist BELECTRIC Solar & Battery Holding GmbH. The company is part of the BELECTRIC Group.
innogy and BELECTRIC Holding GmbH have signed a share purchase agreement. The parties have agreed a purchase price in a high double-digit million-euro range. The transaction is subject to approval by the anti-trust authorities and reorganizational measures. Closing of the transaction is intended to take place in early 2017. innogy SE is temporarily called RWE International SE until the beginning of September 2016.
The takeover of BELECTRIC Solar & Battery instantly makes innogy an international player on the market for utility-scale photovoltaic power plants and battery storage technologies, which is entirely in line with innogy's corporate strategy: these technologies make an important contribution to the expansion of the decentralised, renewable energy system of the future.
BELECTRIC Solar & Battery is engaged in the design, installation, operation and maintenance of utility-scale photovoltaic plants. It is also active in the field of battery storage systems and develops among others turn-key large-scale battery storage solutions. Technology products are developed and manufactured at the company's own plants in Germany and India. With over 15 years of experience, BELECTRIC has built more than 280 utility-scale photovoltaic plants and roof-top systems with a total installed capacity of more than 1.5 gigawatts peak (GWp). In addition, BELECTRIC is responsible for the operation and maintenance of solar plants with a total output capacity of more than 1.0 GWp. The regional focus of this business area is on Europe, the growth markets of the MENA region (Middle East North Africa) as well as India, South America and USA. In 2015, the adjusted EBITDA of BELECTRIC Solar & Battery was in a low double-digit million-euro range.
Peter Terium, Chief Executive Officer of RWE AG and innogy SE: "With innogy we are creating the innovative, decentralised and sustainable energy company of the future. The agreed acquisition of BELECTRIC Solar & Battery fits this strategic orientation perfectly. Smart battery storage solutions make generating electricity from renewables both more efficient and more secure. In BELECTRIC we are acquiring an innovative company that has built up an international strong market position. We are now combining our complementary strengths and creating additional impetus to successfully implement our projects in Europe and our growth regions "“ the whole will be greater than the sum of its parts."
Bernhard Beck, one of the pioneers of the German solar industry and Executive Chairman of BELECTRIC Holding GmbH: "With innogy, an established European energy company is acquiring our trail-blazing business for solar energy and battery solutions. Thereby, the focus is further on sustainable business development for the benefit of our customers and employees."
"In acquiring BELECTRIC, we are bolstering our skills in the area of renewables and acquiring extensive expertise as well as many years of operational experience with solar technology. The experienced team at BELECTRIC will contribute to taking innogy forward with large-scale solar projects," says Hans Buenting, Chief Operating Officer Renewables of innogy SE. "innogy's project pipeline in the area of solar aligns very well with the projects BELECTRIC wants to realise in the next few years", Buenting added.
