Masdar has agreed to initially acquire 67% of Greece’s Terna Energy, a developer of clean energy infrastructure, in a €3.2 billion deal.
Masdar, an Abu Dhabi renewable energy developer, has agreed to acquire a majority stake in Greek energy company Gek Terna.
Masdar said in a press release that it has “signed a definitive agreement with Gek Terna and other shareholders to initially acquire 67% of the outstanding shares of Terna Energy upon completion of the transaction at a price of €20 per share.”
Masdar added that the acquisition price represents an equity valuation of €2.4 billion and an enterprise value of €3.2 billion, marking the largest energy transaction in the history of the Athens Stock Exchange and one of the largest in the European clean energy sector.
After obtaining the necessary regulatory approvals and closing the initial transaction, Masdar plans to launch a mandatory cash tender offer to acquire 100% of the shares of Terna Energy.
The €3.2 billion deal is Masdar’s largest business move in Greece to date. By December 2023, Masdar and the Greek government had also reached a minor agreement to develop a 7 MW solar power plant on the Greek island of Poros, which is expected to cover a large part of the island’s electricity needs. Masdar will fully sponsor the 7 MW project.
The Greek company, founded in 1997, is a leader in the Greek wind energy sector and owns approximately 1.2 GW of operational onshore wind capacity. The 330 MW Kafireas project on Evia Island is Terna Energy’s largest operational wind project and includes a cluster of several wind farms within a relatively short distance.
The company is also pursuing plans in the Greek offshore wind energy market, which is starting to take shape. In November, the company was awarded one of two ‘research licenses’ by the Greek government for the development of offshore wind farms in northeastern Greece, between Alexandroupoli and the island of Samothraki.
Terna Energy also operates only 8.5 MW of solar capacity. However, the company is currently building or about to start building another 101 MW of PV capacity in Greece and has a 2 GW solar pipeline for which it is applying for permits.
Terna Energy’s presence in the field of energy storage is crucial. The company is constructing its Amphilochia hydroelectric energy storage project, which upon completion is expected to have a total installed capacity of 680 MW (production) and 730 MW (pumping). The project, located in Aetolia-Acarnania, northwest Greece, will be the largest Greek investment in grid-connected energy storage, worth more than €500 million. Terna Energy also recently submitted a €120 million loan application to the European Investment Bank for the project.
In February 2024, Terna was awarded two contracts in the second Greek energy storage tender. It won a 40 MW project plus a separate 12 MW plant under its subsidiary Heron, for which the company will receive government subsidies in the form of capital and operational expenditure.
Sultan Al Jaber, the UAE Minister of Industry and Chairman of Masdar, said the Terna Energy deal “marks an important milestone in Masdar’s strategy to expand its portfolio to 100 GW of clean energy and will make a substantial contribution to Greece’s sustainable energy capacity.”
In addition, Masdar has also signed preliminary agreements with two other energy companies to develop wind power plants in Greece and Egypt.
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