Norwegian giant Equinor will buy Danish energy trading company Danske Commodities (DC) for £350 million.
Equinor said the transaction supported its move from being an upstream oil and gas company to a broad energy company.
The company expects to invest 15-20% of its capital expenditure in new energy solutions by 2030.
DC was founded in 2004 and is based in Aarhus, Denmark, with 284 employees.
In 2017 it traded 318 terawatt hours of electricity across 37 countries, equal to more than two times Norway’s annual electricity consumption.
Irene Rummelhoff, Equinor’s executive vice president for new energy solutions, said: “This transaction will strengthen our ability to capture value from our current and future equity production of renewable electricity and supports our aim to grow in new energy solutions.
“We see excellent opportunities to develop our collective understanding of various national markets in a world where renewables to a larger and larger degree will be exposed to market risk.”
DC chief executive Henrik Lind will continue to lead the business for at least 12 months after the transaction closes. The senior management group will remain in place, ensuring continuity for customers, employees and counterparties.
Mr Lind said: “Under Equinor’s ownership Danske Commodities will benefit from a stronger financial position and a portfolio of gas and renewable assets across Europe that can be optimised in the short-term dynamic market and give us further trading opportunities. We will have an owner with big ambitions in renewables that can accelerate our ability to scale and make investments, and whose values and people are a strong match and fit with our own.”
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