Aquila European Renewables (AER), the UK-based green energy company that took on a secondary listing in Dublin two years ago, has hit a hurdle in its plans to wind down as the potential buyer of a large portion of its assets scaled back its bid.
The company, whose shares have been rarely traded in Dublin since the dual listing, said that it has paused the sales process with the preferred bidder, who is no longer in exclusivity. Still, it says that that “dialogue remains open” between both sides.
The unnamed bidder was originally being lined up to buy less than half of its assets. Its assets had a net value of €317.4 million at the end of March.
“After comprehensive and positive due diligence by, and extensive negotiations with, the preferred bidder resulting in a broadly agreed form share purchase agreement, a revised offer from the preferred bidder has been received,” it said. “This revised offer has seen the preferred bidder reduce the number of assets they can currently acquire, with their current available funds. The indicated acquisition price has also been further reduced.”
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It added: “The revised offer would mean a less material proportion of the portfolio would be sold and is expected to lead to a situation which is potentially prejudicial to the marketability of the balance of the portfolio.”
The board will provide an update to shareholders on the sales process once the implications and alternatives have been properly explored, the company said.
AER, which floated in London in May 2019, had a wind, solar and hydro power portfolio with a capacity of 435 megawatts (MW) across Scandinavia, Greece, Spain and Portugal at the end of December, according to its latest financial report. It stated at the time of the initial public offering that it would target projects in the Republic but that never materialised.
AER chose to list in Dublin to enhance the company’s appeal to investors across Europe while being quoted in an English-speaking market. However, it failed to boost trading in the stock.
The company decided last September to put itself into wind-down as the stock had consistently traded at a discount to its intrinsic value and other headwinds.
The company sold its 18 per cent interest in an almost 108MW Portuguese hydropower project last month for €16.5 million, in line with the asset’s valuation on its books at the end of 2024.
AER is also pursuing sales processes for other remaining assets that were not part of the exclusivity talks. These include a Finnish wind asset and other unspecified projects. Shares in Aquila have fallen by 40 per cent over the past five years in London.
