Esken close to £100m biomass sale
Esken is close to a deal to sell biomass and renewable energy business for £100m.
In a confirmation to the stock market this morning, the company, which is undergoing a breakup and sale of all of its assets, said it is in advanced discussions with Pioneer Point Partners, an infastructure investor, regarding a possible disposal of the entire issued share capital of Esken Renewables.
The Carlisle-based former Stobart Group is selling up after a strategic review. It will use proceeds to pay off debt and return capital to shareholders.
It went on to say: “Should the Group complete the disposal of Esken Renewables, the net proceeds would be used to: repay the committed funding drawn under the Group’s facilities agreement with the specialty lender and associated costs; further contribute to the Group’s defined benefit pension scheme; and provide additional working capital in the short term.”
Esken claims to be the UKs market “leading biomass fuel supplier” and last year supplied 1.7m tonnes of biomass fuel to biomass power plants across the UK.
Sky News had reported that talks were at an advanced stage. The Esken market announcement was a reponse to that.
