Activist investor urges ABO Wind for more transparent strategy

German renewables developer ABO Wind AG (ETR:AB9) is facing pressure from activist investor Enkraft Capital GmbH to shed more light on its strategy and the reasons behind the decisions for its portfolio development.

Enkraft, which is among the top four shareholders in ABO Wind, is criticising the company for failing to provide a clear strategy and corporate governance that reflect the size of the business and the risks.

The renewables developer must urgently improve the transparency, frequency and reliability of its reporting in order to provide more legal certainty for investors, Enkraft's managing director Benedikt Kormaier said in a letter seen by Renewables Now.

The investor is urging ABO Wind to set clear strategic, operational and financial goals and provide more clarity about the criteria for the selection of areas for the development of projects as well as the opportunities and risks related to wind, solar, battery and hydrogen projects in the pipeline.

According to Kormaier, it is not clear whether the company has the financial resources and the required staff to carry out projects in countries with different regulatory frameworks.

In order to provide due transparency and reliability, the investor is calling on ABO Wind to move to the regulated segment of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange as its market capitalisation has increased sevenfold over the last five years to more than EUR 650 million (USD 696.6m).

Being part of that segment would provide ABO Wind with better access to the capital market which would be beneficial to the company in view of its growth plans, the investor noted.

In addition, the investor expressed opposition to the appointment of Alexander Thomas to the company's supervisory board after the resignation of chairman Joerg Lukowsky. Thomas has served as a legal adviser at ABO Wind for years and giving him a seat on the board would result in a conflict of interests, according to Kormaier.

(EUR 1 = USD 1.072)

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