Earlier this year, Danish green energy producer and leader in biomethane and renewable energy production from organic waste, Nature Energy decided to sell, generating initial interest from energy majors including BP and Shell.
Bloomberg reported that Nature Energy could be valued at €1.96 billion ($2bn) or more in a sale, with first round bids expected in the coming weeks.
But the Danish must look no further. Nature Energy Biogas A/S announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement under which Shell Petroleum NV, a wholly owned subsidiary of Shell plc (Shell) will acquire 100% of the Company for a total enterprise value of nearly USD $2 billion (€1.9 billion).
Nature Energy’s leading position in biomethane production from organic waste is underpinned by three key market drivers: the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions; providing local, secure and affordable energy; and solving for the increasing amount of organic waste in a circular manner.
For Shell, the acquisition further increases the company’s ability to work with its established customer base across multiple sectors to accelerate its transition to net-zero emissions. It will also support Shell’s ambition to profitably grow its low carbon fuels production and customer offering in its world-leading customer-facing Marketing business.
Nature Energy has developed a series of technology-led initiatives to increase the biomethane yield and monetize other output streams. They have expanded internationally across France, the Netherlands, and North America, and employ more than 400 people worldwide, a five-fold increase over the period.
“Under the stewardship of the NGF Partnership, Nature Energy has grown into a leading producer of biomethane from organic waste and has pioneered a standardized large-scale commercial production process in Denmark that creates higher on-farm crop yields. Under the new ownership of Shell, our team will continue to advance its unique vision of unlocking additional valuable resources from waste materials while offering secure and affordable energy to customers and promoting a circular economy,” Jesper Lok, Chairman of the Board of Nature Energy commented.
Ole Hvelplund, CEO of Nature Energy, added to the positive statement: “This transaction would not be possible without the entire Nature Energy organization, our talented and dedicated employees, our industry partners, as well as our investors — who always believed in our mission and have made invaluable contributions to Nature Energy’s growth and success. We look forward to the next phase of growth, and we remain excited about our near-term prospects to help address both the current energy insecurity, as well as the longer-term potential for biomethane capacity set out in the REPowerEU plan.”
Huibert Vigeveno, Shell’s Downstream Director, commented: “Shell’s competitiveness in low carbon fuels derives from capabilities across the value chain, combining a world-class Trading and Supply organisation with access to differentiated technology and production assets. Acquiring Nature Energy will add a European production platform and growth pipeline to Shell’s existing RNG projects in the United States. We will use this acquisition to build an integrated RNG value chain at global scale, at a time when energy transition policies and customer preferences are signaling strong growth in demand in the years ahead.”
