Several individuals associated with Estonian business have informed ERR that the Swiss investment firm Partners Group is seeking a buyer for Gren. As is typical with mergers and acquisitions, all parties involved have signed confidentiality agreements, preventing public commentary on the matter.

At the same time, Gren is currently restructuring its operations. The parent company, Gren Holding Company B.V., registered in the Netherlands, is being merged with its Finnish-registered subsidiary, Gren Estonia Oy. According to the company, no significant activities are taking place within the parent company. The merger is expected to be completed by December 9.

Speculation about the potential sale of Gren has been ongoing for some time. In mid-March, Bloomberg reported that Partners Group Holding AG was planning to divest $5 billion worth of infrastructure investments, including Gren, valued at €1.5 billion. On November 12, Bloomberg competitor Ion Analytics, citing four sources, wrote that Partners Group continues to seek a buyer for Gren. Morgan Stanley is advising on the sale, with a potential transaction timeline extending to 2025.

Gren was established when the Finnish energy company Fortum sold its Baltic operations to Partners Group in early 2021 for €800 million. Since then, Gren has continuously expanded its production capabilities. For example, this year it acquired Viljandi's district heating company Esro, rebranding it as Gren Viljandi. In June, Gren purchased a 50 percent stake in the South Clyde Energy Center in Glasgow, Scotland, which generates energy from waste. Gren also announced plans this summer to construct a €200 million waste-to-energy facility in Acone, Latvia.

At the beginning of the year, Gren acquired Riga Energy in Latvia, which owns a biomass-fueled cogeneration plant. Last year, Gren bought 11 heat and power generation units in the U.K. from Equitix. At the end of 2022, Gren acquired the Kohtla-Järve, Ahtme, Sompa and Jõhvi district heating networks from Viru Keemia Grupp (VKG). These now operate under the name Gren Viru.

Gren operates over 90 energy production units in Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and the United Kingdom. Its portfolio includes 1,200 megawatts of heat generation capacity and 152 megawatts of electricity generation capacity. In Estonia, the company owns the district heating networks of Tartu, Pärnu, Viljandi and Kohtla-Järve-Jõhvi.

Partners Group, based in Switzerland, is a global investment firm with an investment portfolio valued at $149.2 billion as of June 30, 2023.

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