OX2 shares surge after $1.5bn bid for Ikea offshore wind partner
Independent bid committee at developer's board recommends shareholders accept offer by EQT Infrastructure
Nordic developer OX2 – which has a joint multi-gigawatt offshore wind pipeline with the investment arm of Ikea owner Ingka Group – has received a bid by private equity fund EQT Infrastructure VI through Otello BidCo AB that values OX2 at SKr16.35bn ($1.5bn).
As part of its public offer to OX2 AB shareholders, Otello BidCo offers SKr60.00 per OX2 share, representing a 43.4% premium over the SKr41.80 closing price of OX2 shares at the Nasdaq Stockholm stock exchange on Friday.
Shares surged by 42.21% to SKr59.50 in early Monday trading on the Stockholm stock exchange.
An independent bid committee of the board of directors of OX2 in a statement today has recommended shareholders to accept the public offer.
“To unlock OX2’s full potential, we believe it would benefit from a transition to a more long-term, sustainable business model and becoming an integrated renewables developer and asset owner,” the bid committee noted in a release.
OX2’s development pipeline currently encompasses 13.8GW of offshore wind projects, 11.6GW of onshore wind, 6.8GW of solar and 926MW of energy storage projects.
The company’s largest shareholder is Peas Industries, which controls 45.6% of shares and votes, and has entered into an undertaking to accept EQT’s offer.
OX2 CEO Paul Stormoen is a shareholder in renewable energy company Peas Industries and therefore deemed to have a conflict of interest according to shareholder rules. He therefore is not a member of the independent bid committee.
Otello BidCo expects to publish an offer document around 24 June 2024. The acceptance period for the offer is expected to start a day later and expire on or around 14 October 2024.
Completion of the offer is conditional upon Otello BidCo becoming the owner of more than 50% of OX2 shares. For a squeeze-out of minority shareholders, Otello BidCo would need to become the owner of more than 90% of OX2 shares.
A transition of OX2 from a pure developer to an integrated renewables developer and assets owner as suggested by Otello BidCo could take several years to implement and would require significant investments, the independent bid committee said.
“EQT plans to provide additional investment in OX2’s pipeline while using its industry expertise to support its transformation,” the committee said, adding that Otello BidCo is “commit[ed] to owning OX2 and continue to invest in its future development, whether in a private or public setting”.
(Copyright)