by Greenvolt is making waves in the renewable energy market. Offers were announced almost daily in the market and the operation with the global infrastructure fund managed by (KKR) gave another dimension to the company led by Antonio Manso Neto. Under the terms of the agreement, the €200 million bond issue may be convertible into shares. However, for this to happen shareholders will have to give the green light at a regular general meeting, which will be held by May 31.
“This is an extremely important business for Greenvolt, as we see KKR not only as a strategic investor, recognizing the company’s potential, but also as a partner who believes in the strategy we have set, while also delivering it. it is possible to accelerate even more the fulfillment of the commitments made”, said, at the time, the CEO of the company, adding that “he is sure that it will be a strategic partnership that will create new growth opportunities that maximize the value of Greenvolt”.
According to sources connected to the industry, these investments not only make the electric unicorn – which is common with start-ups rather than a traditional business – but may also lead shareholders to sell the company “easily” if a special offer. price: “I think it’s entirely possible that for a certain price Paulo Fernandes will end up selling.”
But what does the company have? A Greenvolt source explains to i newspaper that Electrica is “an independent renewable energy producer that has a unique position in the sector”, also stating that, “unlike other players, its performance is based on the multiplicity of available technologies. such as the production of energy from residual biomass, both from wood waste and municipal waste, the promotion of large wind and solar energy projects, but also the offering of distributed energy production solutions, both for self-consumption and through the development of renewable energy communities” .
And he states that “this strategy allows us to be better prepared to seize the multiple opportunities that exist in this sector.”
Luís Mira Amaral applauds the focus, recalling that Manso Neto’s leadership “gave new impetus to the company, which already had a lot of experience in the field of renewable energy”, combined with its commitment to biomass. “The great thing about Portugal is the solar panels, mainly because the Chinese have mass-produced them, which has led to a reduction in prices, making their offer very competitive. At the same time, it is necessary to count on the lobby in solar and photovoltaic, putting biomass in the background”, says the energy expert in i.
A Greenvolt source claims that, despite being born in the Altri group, it guarantees that it has “always exploited the cellulosic fiber production process for the production of renewable energy”, even considering that this “expertise is an advantage- It is worth investing in the division of biomass based on the residual, seeking to optimize the processes in the various units” that it has in operation in the national territory. A base which, according to it, has allowed it to grow cross-border, giving as an example the acquisition of Tilbury Green Power, in the residual biomass sector in the United Kingdom.
Also for XTB analyst Vítor Madeira, “the fact that Altri is the largest shareholder of Greenvolt with around 16% of the capital could lead to efficiency gains, as this synergy could generate a competitive advantage and thus increase its profit margin in biomass energy production’.
An industry-connected source vouched that the company made “a genius move”. The explanation is simple: not only does he exploit the forestry sector, but he also brought in someone who knows the market well and has access “to a portfolio of assets that they bought at a relatively good price, which allowed for very rapid growth and their corresponding appreciation” .
Enhanced purchases But the acquisitions don’t stop there. This is the case of the purchase of several companies in different geographies with the aim of accelerating the advancement of large-scale wind and solar projects, with a pipeline of 6.7 GW – with 2.9 GW in advanced development to completion. of 2023. “We have also grown significantly in distributed renewable energy generation, a segment in which we believe there is great potential. In this sense, we have made several acquisitions and partnerships in several countries, prepared to evaluate new opportunities that may arise.”
About his focus, he does not hesitate: “From the first moment we decided that this would be the strategy to follow in the development of renewable energy sources. We don’t see the industry from just one angle. We have a 360º approach to the sector, using a multitude of technologies to generate energy from renewable sources.
We believe that this is the right path for the development of renewable energy sources, which currently are no longer, nor can be considered, alternatives. Renewable energy sources are the solution, not only for ending dependence on fossil energy sources, with all the problems they bring, that is, from a geopolitical point of view, but mainly for what should be everyone’s goal, which is the drastic reduction in the emissions of polluting gases which, as we can see, have led to climate change with drastic consequences for humanity.”
An industry source recalls the company’s strong presence in Eastern Europe, namely in Poland, and with offers for assets in Hungary. “They looked to find some of Manso Neto’s connections to grow relatively quickly.”
Commitment to communities Another innovation concerns the creation of distributed energy generation as a solution to reduce consumer bills, and therefore the commitment to self-consumption solutions, with more than 100 MW already installed and in projects. “We are witnessing a significant increase in demand for renewable energy sharing solutions through the concept of energy communities,” he points out, with energy communities being developed that currently have more than 40 projects that will have an installed capacity of around 30 MW. “These energy community projects are being developed with a wide variety of partners, across many sectors. We have projects in the tourism/real estate sector, with Vanguard Properties, but also in industry, such as Longa Vida or Plastidom, and even sports, with projects among others with the Os Belenenses Football Federation,” he says in the newspaper. I.
stock market success The company entered the Portuguese capital market in September 2021, being promoted almost automatically to the main index of the national stock market, the PSI. “This process was based on a strategy, a value proposition, which our stakeholders trusted and which over time has proven to be correct,” says the same source from the electric company.
For XTB analyst Vítor Madeira, its entry and behavior on the stock market can already be considered a success story. “If we look at the company for its stock market performance, we can say that it has been a success story given its profitability as the company peaked over 130% in valuation and is currently still well above its price IPO at about 66%. In terms of growth, the company also has very strong fundamental metrics, compared to other Portuguese companies.”
*with Daniela Soares Ferreira
