Balfour splashes £61.3m on cutting-edge energy firm

Balfour Beatty’s investment arm has agreed a deal to acquire cutting-edge energy firm Alkane Energy for £61.3m.

Alkane specialises in producing power from disused coal mines through the acquisition of trapped methane. The firm, which is amoing the fastest-growing energy providers in the UK, has a total of 145MW of generating capacity installed. In the previous year’s financial results Alkane posted annual revenue of £16m, with a gross profit of £6.5m

Alkane Energy’s board has reached a deal with Balfour Beatty Infrastructure Partners (BBIP) to purchase the entire company after being back by more than 35% of current investors.

Roger McDowell, chairman of Alkane, said: “The Board of Alkane have reached an agreement on the terms of a recommended cash offer for Alkane. This Offer enables Alkane shareholders to realise value today in cash for their shares at a significant premium to the recent historical share price, which, in the board’s view, has been impacted by negative sentiment towards the energy industry and continued regulatory scrutiny.

“BBIP have a well-respected track record in the infrastructure sector and as a patient investor, will be able to support the Company’s longer term growth ambitions, building on its current portfolio of baseload CMM generation and power response sites. We believe that the Offer is a good outcome for all Alkane stakeholders.”

Rob Gregor, managing partner of BBIP, said: “We see great opportunity in the [Alkane] business and believe BBIP is an excellent partner to support the next phase of Alkane’s development, and thereby contribute to the security of the UK power supply.”