The Navarre-based group is looking to finance its growth and is analysing how to place more than 25% of its capital on the market and overcome the successful exit of Soltec, in a race that Repsol will also enter.
This is the case of the Navarrese group OPDEnergy, which is already analysing this alternative. The success of the recent placement of the Murcia-based Soltec group has whetted the appetite of this and other companies. Soltec, based in Molina de Segura, was launched on the Continuous Market in October, marking a milestone in Spain for the energy and financial sectors.
The group, which manufactures equipment for photovoltaic installations, made its debut on the trading floor on 28 October. It broke the drought of stock market listings in the Continuous Market that had been taking place in Spain for two years. And it did it with note. The group, whose first executive is Raúl Morales, recorded a revaluation of more than 11% on the day of its debut.
On a roll
The streak continues and the company has a cumulative increase of 25%. It now has a capitalisation of 550 million euros. Well-known financial shareholders have joined the group. Banco Santander, through various funds belonging to Lola Solana, has a 3.44% stake. The British management company Schroders has 3.22% and the Norwegian giant Norges controls 3.1%.
Soltec’s success has also run parallel to other renewable energy market events in Spain. The photovoltaic energy group Solaria joined the Ibex last month. This year, Solaria has a 173% revaluation and its capitalization amounts to 2,320 million. It exceeds companies such as Sabadell, Indra or Meliá, also from the Ibex.
One of the schemes being considered by OPDEnergy is to emulate the Soltec placement, with the expectation of exceeding its results. Soltec floated just over 40% for 165 million Euros, with a total initial valuation of the group of more than 400 million. It opted for the Continuo, instead of the more modest option of the MAB (Mercado Alternativo Bursátil) because it was large enough. Apart from a small tranche for employees, the entire placement was for institutional shareholders. In barely 24 hours it achieved sufficient demand to cover the supply, which even allowed it to bring forward the schedule of the quotation.
Financial sources indicate that for reasons of business model and size, groups like OPDEnergy would be in a good position to beat Soltec. After all, this group is a manufacturer of photovoltaic equipment that exists thanks to the fact that others, such as OPDEnergy or Solaria, develop, build and manage these facilities. The idea of going out into the Continuum itself sets a series of requirements. A company must have at least 25% of its capital quoted. As the placement is intended to obtain financing, the model would be (as in the case of Soltec), a Public Offer of Subscription (OPS), if not entirely, then a good part. In an IPO, new shares are issued and the money obtained strengthens the company’s resources.
What is coming Repsol
It is different from an IPO, in which shareholders sell shares they already hold to make money. One incentive for placement is to get ahead of others, to avoid saturation of IPOs. Repsol has announced that it intends to place and/or seek partners, within two years, for the new renewables subsidiary it is creating.
A PLAN TO MULTIPLY THE SIZE OF THE COMPANY BY TWELVE
OPDEnergy’s possible IPO comes at a crucial time for the group. The renewable energy company has been operating for fifteen years since its creation by entrepreneurs from Navarre and the Basque Country. It has just launched an ambitious growth plan.
The group, whose CEO is Luis Cid, now has 350 megawatts (MW) of its own renewables in operation and under construction, and the objective for 2023 is to reach 4,500 MW.
In other words, it wants to multiply its capacity by twelve. Although very discreet, throughout its history the group has been one of the most relevant Spanish players in renewable energies in several countries. It has developed more than a thousand megawatts of wind and solar projects. The company has reached more than 1.7 billion euros in asset transactions.
In recent years, it has developed an installed capacity of 650 MW through long-term power purchase agreements (PPAs) with some of the main international operators, which have enabled it to consolidate its presence in the USA, Mexico, Chile, Italy and the United Kingdom, as well as Spain.
The company has a portfolio of projects in the short and medium term in excess of 9,000 megawatts.
Before the confinement, in March, the group tried to sell a relevant portion of its portfolio in an operation advised by Rubicon Capital Advisors that finally did not go ahead. The IPO is an alternative plan.
The group has already been approached by major investment banks and financial institutions to design plans for an IPO. These operations are a new financial mouthful. Santander, CaixaBank, JB Capital Markets, Joh. Berenberg, Gossler & Co KG, and the firm Rothschild.
Source: Expansión.
