Opdenergy shelves IPO amid volatility in green power stocks

The Spanish renewable power group said in a bourse filing it was postponing the deal in view of the unstable conditions in markets

Spanish renewable power group Opdenergy has shelved an initial public offering (IPO) due to volatility among green power stocks, just days before its shares were set to start trading, it said on Wednesday, confirming an earlier Reuters report.

The company said in a bourse filing it was postponing the deal, in which it was looking to raise nearly 375 million euros ($450 million) "in view of the unstable conditions in markets in general, and for renewable energy companies".

Orders for the stock had been coming in slowly, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters, adding the company still wanted to go public in future, but had not set a new date.

Shares had been expected to start trading on May 7.

The decision was taken after fellow Spanish renewable energy developer Ecoener's stock tumbled 15% on its first day trading on Tuesday. The size of that IPO was slashed due to limited demand.

Bigger peers Solaria and Neoen have both lost more than 30% in market value this year.

The smaller deals were expected to be a precursor to much larger ones in the sector, starting with the sale of shares in industrial group Acciona's energy unit, which could value the unit at up to 8 billion euros ($9.65 billion).

Led by Luis Cid, who previously worked at wind power giant Iberdrola, Opdenergy runs 13 solar parks and one onshore wind farm, with projects in Spain, Britain, Chile, France, Italy, Mexico, Poland and the US.

The company sought alternative sources of funding even after formally declaring its intention to list, and hired Spanish bank BBVA to underwrite 500 million euros ($602.87 million) in debt to help finance plans to add 3.7 gigawatts of capacity to its current 580 megawatts by the end of 2026.