12 July 2021
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2 min read
Delabole wind farm in North Cornwall, bought by Good Energy in 2002, was the first commercial wind farm in the UK
Ecotricity has tabled three offers to buy out rival green energy company over the last month, all of which have been rejected by Good Energy
Ecotricity has revealed this morning that it has made a number of unsuccessful offers to buy up the stock of rival green energy supplier Good Energy over the past month.
The company founded by entrepreneur Dale Vince already owns a quarter of Good Energy, but has made three indicative offers since the middle of June in a bid to bring its competitor fully under its control, according to financial statements released today.
The latest offer valued Chippenham-based Good Energy at £56.6m and offered an 18.9 per cent premium on the company's closing price on 1 July.
Ecotricity said the offer of 340 pence per share represented "compelling value" and could give Good Energy shareholders the opportunity to sell their holdings for cash.
But Good Energy's board rejected the offer, arguing it was "inadequate and fundamentally undervalues the Group".
"Good Energy's shareholders are not being offered anything like a full premium for giving up control of their company," the company said in a statement today.
"Ecotricity's possible offer represents a premium of just 10.6 per cent over the price of the company's shares on 9 July and a premium of just 26.6 per cent over the volume weighted average price of the company's shares over the last three months."
The board added that Good Energy has demonstrated its ability to deliver value to its shareholders and was committed to continuing to do so.
The rebuffal marks the third time Good Energy has rejected Ecotricity's advances in the past month, with the Board rejecting an offer of 310 pence per share on 18 June and 330 pence per share on 29 June.
The back-and-forth is the latest twist in a power struggle between the rival renewable energy suppliers that dates back more than a decade. In 2016, Vince snapped up a stake in Good Energy and attempted to gain a seat on its board, prompting a fierce war of words between the two companies which saw the entrepreneur slam the rival outfit for its payments to a renewable development firm owned by the husband of Good Energy's then-CEO Juliet Davenport. The spat came just months after Good Energy lodged a complaint with UK's advertising authority over Ecotricity's claim to be the UK's greenest energy supplier.
A spokesperson for Ecotricity declined to provide further comment on whether the firm planned to continue its pursuit of Good Energy. However, they urged shareholders at Good Energy to share their thoughts on a potential takeover. "We are aware of the Board's view, and are now interested in the view of our fellow shareholders," the spokesperson said.
Davenport stepped down as CEO of Good Energy earlier this year, with former MoneySupermarket.com executive director Nigel Pocklington taking the reins of the pioneering energy company in May.
