RWE Rakes in €2bn With Share Issue to Back its Renewable Expansion

RWE has successfully concluded an increase of its share capital of around EUR 2 billion, as it looks to expand in the fields of renewable energy

Germany’s RWE has announced that it has successfully concluded an increase of its share capital of around EUR 2 billion by selling new shares. The firm stated that the transaction reflects its strategy to expand in the fields of renewable energy and to even grow beyond previous expansion plans.

The capital influx has provided the firm with the full financial flexibility to finance future growth: The net proceeds from the capital increase are planned to be invested in additional short-term capacity build-out, enhancements of pipeline and in further visible mid- and long-term growth opportunities in renewables on top of the company’s ambition to grow its renewables portfolio to more than 13 gigawatts (GW) net and to invest some EUR 5 billion net by the end of 2022.

Parts of the proceeds will be used to finance the planned acquisition and realisation of the 2.7 GW project pipeline from Nordex as announced on 31 July 2020.

“We are very pleased how well our offer was accepted and how our growth ambition in renewable energy is being supported by our investors. The additional financial flexibility enables us to enhance our project pipeline and to accelerate our continued growth in wind and solar power. At the same time, we underline RWE’s position as one of the global leading companies in renewable energy,” said Rolf Martin Schmitz, CEO of RWE AG.

The firm sold new shares at a price of EUR 32.55 per share following an accelerated bookbuilt offering to institutional investors. The company’s share capital was increased by 10 percent by using part of the authorised capital by issuing about 61.5 million new ordinary bearer shares against cash contributions and with the exclusion of subscription rights.

Markus Krebber, CFO of RWE AG said that the “current market environment allowed for a successful equity raising at attractive valuation levels for our shareholders. RWE, having already a solid financial basis, stands for promising growth perspectives in our renewables business with attractive returns and a reliable dividend target: We stick to our plan to increase our dividend for fiscal 2020 to EUR 0.85 per share and to continuously grow dividend payments in line with the development of earnings in our core business.”