Casino’s energy business GreenYellow raises about 200 million euros

PARIS (Reuters) -GreenYellow has raised additional funds of around 200 million euros ($227.36 million) to support its growth, the energy business of French retailer Casino said on Monday.

GreenYellow, which last year said it was considering a stock market listing, produces low-cost electricity and helps lower companies’ power consumption.

It raised 109 million euros via 5-year convertible bonds with warrants attached subscribed by a U.S. institutional investor Farallon Capital, and further 87 million euros through a 1-year syndicated credit facility.

The funding would accelerate the company’s transition to an “infrastructure” model as it aimed to become a world leader in decentralised energy, GreenYellow President Otmane Hajji said in a statement.

The unit’s earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) for the first half of 2021 rose 40% year-on-year to 36.5 million euros, it said in July, adding it expected EBITDA of 80 million to 85 million euros for the year, and around 250 million by 2025.

At that time, GreenYellow said it aimed to expand into Eastern Europe, particularly Poland, Hungary and Bulgaria, where it had signed a partnership for 4 MWp solar project, which will become the largest self-consumption solar power plant in the country.

($1 = 0.8797 euros)

(Reporting by Piotr Lipinski; editing by Jason Neely, Kirsten Donovan)