Eesti Gaas entered into an agreement to acquire EWE group’s energy business in Poland

Eesti Gaas, the largest private energy company in the Baltic-Finnish region and subsidiary of the investment company Infortar, has signed an agreement with the German energy corporation EWE AG to acquire all of EWE group’s business operations in Poland for 120 million euros. The transaction includes a natural gas distribution network in Western Poland and all business lines of energy sales.

Ain Hanschmidt 

“Our ambition is to expand beyond the Baltic-Finnish region into Central and Western Europe, implementing our proven model and experience as a gas supplier and network operator Poland, thereby delivering the best service to consumers. The acquisition of an energy company in Poland provides us with the necessary momentum in this large and important growing gas market, while also ensuring an additional steady cash flow for the company’s shareholders,” said Ain Hanschmidt, Chairman of the Council of Eesti Gaas.

Stefan Dohler, Chairman of the Board of Management, EWE AG: “EWE has set itself the goal of significantly increasing its investments in a climate-neutral and more digitalised energy future. To this end, we are focussing on defined strategic growth areas such as the expansion of renewable energies and the development of a hydrogen economy on the one hand, and on our core regions on the other, where we bear special responsibility for the success of the transformation. This means that we are also making portfolio decisions. EWE Polska complements the core business and growth ambitions of Eesti Gaas, so that the change of ownership opens up new growth opportunities for the company on the Polish energy market.”

The completion of the transaction requires approval from the Polish Competition Authority as well as corporate approval by the EWE AG Board of Directors. Transaction has been advised by law firms CMS in Poland and Ellex in Estonia and audit company KPMG.

Eesti Gaas is the largest privately-owned energy company in the Baltic-Finland region. Operating internationally under the Elenger brand, the group is active in six markets – Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, and Germany – and serves over 400,000 customers. The group’s business portfolio spans energy sales and trading, energy infrastructure, and energy production.

Eesti Gaas provides customers with natural gas of Western origin and self-produced biomethane, and operates the largest gas distribution networks in Estonia and Latvia with combined length of 7000 km. The company also sells electricity, including green electricity produced in its own solar parks. Eesti Gaas group employs 900 people and reached a turnover of €1.022 billion last year. Eesti Gaas is wholly owned by Infortar, an investment company listed on the Nasdaq Tallinn Stock Exchange Baltic Main List.

EWE Polska is the second-largest privately-owned network operator in Poland. The company operates a natural gas distribution network of 2,316 km in western Poland, mainly around Poznan, serving over 25,000 clients. In addition to infrastructure management, the company sells natural gas and electricity, with energy sales totaling 1.2 TWh last year.

EWE is an innovative service provider active in the business areas of energy, telecommunications and information technology. With over 10,800 employees and sales of EUR 10 billion in 2023, EWE is one of the largest utility companies in Germany. The company, based in Oldenburg, Lower Saxony, is primarily owned by the local government. In northwest Germany, Brandenburg and on the island of Rügen it provides electricity to around 1.4 million customers, as well as parts of Poland, and supplies natural gas to 0.7 million customers. It also provides 0.7 million customers with telecommunications services. EWE plays a pioneering role in the areas of climate protection and digital participation. In the coming years, the Group will invest in the expansion of the electricity grids, in the expansion of the fibre-optic infrastructure, the erection of new wind turbines and is a leader in the development of hydrogen infrastructure. More information on EWE can be found at www.ewe.com.