German renewable energy company Blue Elephant secures new investor, cancels IPO

FRANKFURT, July 7 (Reuters) – Blue Elephant Energy has secured a € 75 million ($ 89 million) stake from German billionaire family Struengmann and has abandoned its initial public offering (IPO), a the renewable energy company announced Wednesday.

Athos, the vehicle of the Struengmann family which also owns a majority stake in COVID-19 vaccine maker BioNTech (22UAy.DE), will receive a 15% stake in return for its investment.

Athos will also have the option of injecting up to an additional € 75 million into Blue Elephant.

“Even after Athos’ investment, an IPO at a later date remains an option,” said Felix Goedhart, CEO of Blue Elephant.

The agreement values ​​Blue Elephant at 1.45 billion euros, including debt.

Blue Elephant, which competes with companies like Energiekontor (EKTG.DE) and PNE AG (PNEGn.DE), operates onshore solar and wind farms in Europe with a total capacity of around 1.1 gigawatt.

It also has a pipeline of equal size for solar capacity, in cooperation with project developers.

Valuations of renewable assets have skyrocketed, driven by growing demand from various sectors, including oil, as well as a global shift towards clean technologies and away from fossil fuels.

($ 1 = € 0.8460)

Reporting by Arno Schuetze Editing by Mark Potter

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