Centrica to expand offerings for decentralised assets with GBP-170m buy

UK’s Centrica Plc (LON:CNA) will pay some DKK 1.6 billion (USD 244.5m/EUR 215m) in cash to take over Neas Energy A/S, a Danish energy management business that serves decentralised assets, including renewable energy plants.

Aalborg-based Neas offers route to market and short-term trading optimisation services to clients in six European countries that together own roughly 8.6 GW of decentralised assets such as wind farms, solar parks and combined heat and power (CHP) plants. The firm also provides risk and supply management servicesalong with consumption optimisation for wholesale electricity customers and smaller suppliers.

The acquisition of Neas will complement Centrica’s own Energy Marketing & Trading operations and add improved analytics, IT and trading capabilities in continental Europe. Commenting on the deal, Centrica’s CEO Iain Conn said it will help the company step up its energy marketing and trading growth strategy while serving renewable and distributed energy customers at a wholesale level across the continent.

The transaction is pending EU regulatory clearance and is expected to wrap up some time in mid 2016. The above-mentioned purchase price will be adjusted for cash and net working capital, currently estimated at around DKK 300 million.

The business being acquired booked earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of DKK 198 million on revenues of DKK 20.4 billion in 2015.

(DKK 1.0 = USD 0.152/EUR 0.134)

Choose your newsletter by Renewables Now. Join for free!