Shell, PGGM Get in Early Bid for Dutch Utility
Anglo-Dutch major Shell and Dutch pension fund PGGM have joined forces to bid for the Rotterdam, Netherlands utility Eneco, they said January 14. The board said in December that it would privatise the company if that is the shareholders' decision.
Eneco is in the whole value chain, from energy generation and storage to supply of power, gas and heat with accompanying energy saving and efficiency services.
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With their roots in Dutch society, the companies said they "understand Eneco’s unique position in taking on the challenges and opportunities of the energy transition. The consortium envisages that Eneco will be a platform for growth, operating from Rotterdam, with potential investments inside and outside the Netherlands. The Eneco brand could be retained, they said.
Shell’s Integrated Gas & New Energies director Maarten Wetselaar said that Eneco’s business "neatly fits with Shell’s New Energies activities and ambitions to continuously find new ways to reduce carbon emissions and provide more and cleaner energy. The consortium is committed to expand and develop business models that create both societal and commercial value.”
PGGM chief investments office for private markets Frank Roeters van Lennep said: “The energy transition offers good opportunities for long-term investments in a more sustainable economy... PGGM and Shell bring complementary experience and expertise across Eneco’s activities, which will support the delivery of affordable sustainable energy to a growing number of customers in northwest Europe."
Shell aims to make electricity a significant part of its business, from generating it to buying, selling and supplying electricity directly to customers, it said. It has already moved into the household retail energy supply business in the UK and sees this as a way of capturing more value from its upstream and LNG optimisation businesses. Total has done something similar in France.