EnBW plans to acquire wind and solar company Valeco
In acquiring the French wind and solar farm operatEnBW will Wind- und Solarunternehmen Valeco übernehmenor, EnBW seeks in particular to increase its wind power capacity. French law, however, prescribes that the company’s staff council must first agree to the takeover.
Montpellier-based Valeco is one of the top ten operators of renewable energy farms on the French market and employs 135 people in the onshore wind power and solar energy business. With an installed output of 276 megawatts of wind power and 56 megawatts of solar power in operation, as well as a project pipeline of 1,700 megawatts, Valeco currently generates an annual turnover of around €50 million. The owners have selected EnBW as the exclusive bidder for the acquisition of the Group; experts estimate the purchase price to be in the triple-digit million range. The acquisition would enable Germany’s third largest energy supplier EnBW to increase its wind power capacity by 25% to 30%.
As part of its 2021-2025 growth strategy, EnBW is planning to invest some €12 billion. The Group has already invested around €3 billion in expanding its renewable energy business and hopes to take on 3,600 new employees by the end of 2021. The aim is to generate approximately €3 billion in earnings in 2025.
