Ecotricity has beefed up its cash offer to Good Energy shareholders by 18%, as it tries to take over its fellow green energy specialist. Ecotricity announced on 16 September that it would increase its offer from 360p to 400p.
Ecotricity set out a formal offer for Good Energy shares at 340p on 22 July and published the offer document on 10 August. The offer closes on 10 October. By 16 September when it announced the hike in its offer Ecotricity had tempted owners of just 2.2% of Good Energy shares to sell them, bringing Ecotricity’s ownership to 27.3%.

Responding to the new offer, the board of Good Energy said it “recognises that the Revised Offer is a significant increase over the original” but said it continued to undervalue Good Energy, because “The Revised Offer is too low to be recommended on financial grounds, representing a premium of only 30.1% over the closing price per Good Energy share on 9 July 2021 (the last business day prior to the start of the offer period).”

The Board went on to say it “firmly believes Ecotricity is an unfit owner with an unsuitable plan from the point of view of the Company and its stakeholders.”

Citing strong profit growth in the first half of 2021, Good Energy chair Will Whitehorn hit back at Ecotricity, saying, “Shareholders should be under no illusion that this is, in fact, a ‘hostile’ bid in the truest sense of the word, regardless of Dale Vince’s claims to the contrary. This is borne out by the fact that Ecotricity made no attempt to engage with the Board to seek a recommendation for its Revised Offer before it was announced, and Ecotricity’s track record of disruptive behaviour in relation to the Company and its business. Good Energy’s strategic delivery over recent years has been achieved despite Ecotricity’s disruption.”