Orlen to Buy Out Energa Minorities to Take Full Ownership

Polish state-controlled refiner Orlen said on Wednesday it plans to buy out the remaining shares in its utility unit Energa to take full ownership, with a price tag of about 709 million zlotys ($189 million).

The move will see Orlen integrate the utility more deeply into its energy transition strategy. The refiner is offering 18.87 zlotys per share for the 37.6 million shares it does not already own.

Shareholders can submit sale offers between December 1 and December 17, the company said in a regulatory filing. It said that it could also start buying Energa shares on the market from November 27.

Orlen, which acquired a majority stake in Energa in 2020, is pursuing a 380-billion-zloty investment strategy focused on renewables, low-emission sources like offshore wind, and nuclear power.

Taking full control of Energa and its distribution network is seen as a way to better execute this transition plan, giving Orlen command over key grid infrastructure needed for new energy projects.

The decision comes amid broad uncertainty in Poland's energy sector, as the government has yet to announce a plan for the unprofitable coal assets that burden other state-controlled utilities like PGE and Tauron.

Poland's government last year scrapped a plan by its predecessors to create a national agency that would take over coal assets from utilities, leaving companies to pursue individual transformation paths.

(Reuters)