Premier Energy, a vertically integrated energy group particularly active in Romania and Moldova, announced on April 18 it initiated procedures with the Romanian Financial Supervisory Authority (ASF) to carry out a €125mn initial public offering (IPO) on the Bucharest Stock Exchange (BVB).

Premier Energy, owned by Jiri Smejc’s Emma Capital, said the funds raised through the IPO will accelerate its development, and particularly mentioned the renewables production segment.

“[N]ow is the right time for Premier Energy Group to conduct an IPO and to leverage the exciting opportunities for accelerated development that a public listing on the Bucharest Stock Exchange will deliver,” said Jose Garza, chief executive officer of Premier Energy Group.

“As the largest renewables production manager and aggregator of solar and wind plants in Romania and Moldova, Premier Energy Group is well-placed to benefit from the forecasted growth of renewables in the region,” he explained.

The offer will start after ASF approves the IPO prospectus and is expected to be completed as early as May, subject to capital market conditions.

The final terms of the transaction have not been yet announced.

Under the IPO, Premier Energy seeks to raise about €100mn by issuing new shares, while the group’s main shareholder, Emma Capital, plans to sell shares worth €25mn.

Following the IPO, Emma Capital will remain the majority shareholder of Premier Energy.

This will be the first IPO on the Bucharest Stock Exchange after the €2bn listing of Romanian state-owned power producer Hidroelectrica in 2023.

A spokesperson for Premier Energy told bne IntelliNews that the Hidroelectrica IPO had been transformative for the local capital market.

Premier Energy has been active in Romania for ten years in the distribution and supply of natural gas, as well as in the production and supply of electricity from renewable sources.

The company currently has 1,000 MW of green projects under ownership, management or in development in Romania, evenly split between wind and solar and across the country. In March, it told Reuters it aims to boost its renewable energy portfolio to 1.5 GW over the next two to three years.

News of the IPO comes shortly after Premier Energy announced it completed the acquisition of electricity supply firm CEZ Vanzare from Macquarie Asset Management.

The joint global coordinators hired for the IPO include Citigroup, UniCredit Bank GmbH (Milan Branch) and WOOD & Company. Alpha Bank Romania SA and BT Capital Partners SA are acting as joint bookrunning managers.