Innogy : sells US wood pellet plant to Enviva

• Divestment is part of innogy's strategic realignment process
• Transaction planned to be closed in the third quarter of 2020

innogy's wood pellet production facility Georgia Biomass in the United States will be transferred to a new owner: Today, innogy and Enviva have signed an agreement, which lays out the sale of innogy's subsidiary Georgia Biomass Holding LLC to Enviva Partners, LP for a purchase price of USD 175 million. Georgia Biomass owns and operates a large-scale plant for the production of industrial wood pellets in Waycross, Georgia. The closing of the transaction is subject to antitrust clearance - both in the UK and in the US. The transfer of ownership will take place following the successful closing of the transaction, which is planned for the third quarter of 2020.

Christoph Radke, COO Renewables at innogy SE explains: 'We are selling our US pellet production facility as a result of a strategic realignment process that was decided already some years ago. This strategic realignment led to the decision that biomass was no longer considered a core business activity. As part of this process, we have already sold three biomass-fired power stations and a pellet production facility in Germany in addition to a biomass asset in Italy. The pellet plant in Waycross is the last biomass asset in our portfolio. We are convinced that Georgia Biomass would be better placed in a company which has pellet production as one of its key strategic pillars. Therefore selling our biomass business in the US to Enviva is the right step for the employees and the business itself.'

Fabian Gaus, Managing Director of Georgia Biomass LLC adds: 'I'd like to take the opportunity to express my sincere thanks to our employees. Due to their efforts, we have been able to continuously improve the operational performance of the company. Georgia Biomass exceeded 800,000 metric tons in annual production in 2019 and ended the previous year with setting benchmarks not only in production, but also in quality, sales and profitability. In doing so we have created a perfect basis for the future of the company under the umbrella of Enviva.'

Enviva is a leading global energy company specializing in sustainable wood bioenergy. As the world's largest producer of sustainable wood pellets, the company operates plants and ports in Alabama, Florida, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia.