The Danish Parliament's finance committee approved the final implementation of the investment agreement between the Danish State, DONG Energy, Goldman Sachs, Arbejdsmarkedets Tillægspension, PFA along with existing minority stakeholders.
The approval signals the start of a new chapter for DONG Energy, and, after nine years at the head of the company, Fritz Schur (pictured) will step down as chairman of the board of directors at the annual general meeting on 12 March 2014.
”I’ve been in the post for nine years, the company is developing well, a strong management is in place and with the addition of the new shareholders a new chapter will begin in the lead up to the initial public offering (IPO) in 2017 - 2018. It is a good time to hand over to a successor,” Schur said.
Schur took on the role in 2005 in order to complete the merger of the six energy companies Elsam, Energi E2, Nesa, Københavns Energi, Frederiksberg Forsyning and DONG. The merger was a success, and DONG Energy has become an international energy company and one of Denmark’s largest companies. At the same time, the company has embarked on an ambitious transformation to green energy. From 2007 to 2013, DONG Energy has thus invested, among other things, US$8.9 billion in wind energy and is a global leader when it comes to installing offshore wind turbines.
”The merger provided DONG Energy with the financial muscle to go into competition with international energy companies and at the same time create significant values for Danish society,” Schur said.
Energy companies across the world were hit hard by the financial crisis. The difficult development was exacerbated by US oil discoveries and extraction of shale gas, which led to the USA becoming an energy exporter instead of the world’s largest energy importer. The coal market collapsed, and coal prices plummeted, with the result that Europe now uses far more coal than anyone had anticipated when the climate agenda in the noughties set the scene for a completely different development.
”DONG Energy has suffered financially from the fact that climate-damaging use of coal has been continued in so many European countries. But I still believe that DONG Energy should invest in being able to provide the green energy solutions of the future. Although of course in a well-considered and balanced way so that the company creates value for its owners,” Schur said.
Since Schur became chairman of the board of directors of DONG Energy, the company has distributed dividends of DKK 9.5 billion and its equity has grown from DKK 18.1 billion (2005) to DKK 33.4 billion (2012).
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