Baker McKenzie has advised MET Renewables AG on the establishment of a joint venture with Gazprom Neft-owned NIS, after helping MET acquire a 50% share in a Serbian wind farm project from an unidentified third party.
The MET Group is a European energy company headquartered in Switzerland, with activities in natural gas, power, and oil markets. MET is present in 15 countries through subsidiaries, 28 national gas markets and 22 international trading hubs. The Group is 100% owned by its managers and employees.
According to a MET Group press release, "this will be the first wind project for both NIS and MET, and also the first renewable energy investment of the Swiss MET Group outside the EU. The 102 MW wind park will consist of 34 wind turbines and will be built next to the Serbian municipality of Plandiste. MET Renewables AG (owned 100% by Switzerland-based MET Group) was officially registered as a shareholder on March 19, 2019. Wind Park Plandiste will be operated in a joint structure, each firm holding a 50% stake in a company called NIS–MET Energowind."
The NIS Group energy company in Southeast Europe is engaged in the exploration, production, and refining of crude oil and natural gas, the sale and distribution of a broad range of petroleum and gas products, and the implementation of energy and petrochemical projects. NIS’s main production facilities are located in the Republic of Serbia, though additional subsidiaries and representative offices have also been established in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Romania, Russia, and Croatia. The Russian company Gazprom Neft owns 56.15% of NIS shares, while 29.87% of the shares are held by the Republic of Serbia. The remaining portion is owned by citizens, employees, former employees and other minor shareholders."
According to the MET Group, the 102 MW wind park will supply power equivalent to the consumption of around 85,000 households. Construction of WF Plandiste will start this year, and it is expected to be fully operational by 2021.
The Baker McKenzie team was led by Partner Akos Fehervary and included Associates Daniel Orosz and David Ferenc.
Editor's Note: After this article was published, Serbia's Prica & Partners informed CEE Legal Matters that it had provided local advice to MET on the transaction.
