Gimv and SRIW are jointly investing € 40m in Lampiris, a green energy supplier active mainly in Belgium. The funds are earmarked for balance sheet enhancement and the further funding of ongoing growth. This will enable Lampiris to achieve its ambition to become Belgium's leading independent supplier of gas and green electricity.
News:
Founded in 2003 and originally more geared towards Wallonia, the company now has >770k subscriptions to which it supplies gas or 100% green electricity. The business focuses primarily on Belgium, but in 2011 Lampiris also obtained a licence to supply gas in France. It can now also offer a combined energy package (gas and electricity) on the French market. With a market share of roughly 9% in the gas and 6.5% in electricity, Lampiris is the third largest energy supplier in Belgium. The fact that the company has consistently posted the highest growth figures in the energy market further enhances the attractiveness of this deal.
Our View:
The investment will be carried out via the Gimv-XL fund and fits neatly in the Sustainable Cities platform. We remind investors that Lampiris is no stranger for Gimv/SRIW as the two parties have worked together in 2011 onthe project to take-over Nuon’s Belgian activities (which in the end did not come to fruition).
Conclusion:
We estimate NAV at € 42.90 p.s. with a 8.68% discount, which compares to the 2-year average of 11.5%. Our € 42.0 TP implies a 3.5% discount to target equity value and leaves 7% upside potential. Hold maintained.