Schoenherr advises MET Group on first investment in Romanian renewable energy market

Schoenherr advised MET Group on the acquisition of a solar photovoltaic ("PV") project under development in Southern Romania. The project has a planned installed capacity of 52 MWp and is expected to reach ready-to-build status by the first quarter of 2023.

This is MET Group's first investment in Romanian renewables. The group has been active in the local energy market for more than 13 years, supplying electricity, natural gas and energy services to households and industrial consumers. Having also acquired renewable energy projects in Italy, Spain and Poland this year, MET Group plans to continue growing its European renewables portfolio to 2 GW of installed renewable capacity by 2026.

"This investment sets MET Group's first footprint in the Romanian renewable energy market," said Monica Cojocaru, local partner, who led the Schoenherr team advising MET Group. "We are proud to have been part of the transaction. MET Group's move into the local renewables sector sends a positive signal about the growth potential of this market."

MET Group is an integrated European energy company, headquartered in Switzerland, with activities and assets in natural gas and power markets. It is present in 13 countries through subsidiaries, 27 national gas markets and 22 international trading hubs. In 2021, MET Group's consolidated revenue amounted to EUR 18.1bln, the volume of traded natural gas was 55 BCM and traded electricity was 50+ TWh.

Schoenherr Romania advised on all the legal aspects of this M&A transaction, including on energy-related matters. The team was led by Monica Cojocaru (local partner), with key roles played by Vlad Cordea (senior attorney at law) on corporate/M&A and energy matters, Georgiana Bădescu (partner) on FDI screening, and Alexandra Huza (senior attorney at law) on real estate matters.