UPDATE 1-Premier Energy aims to raise 100 mln euros in Bucharest May IPO

(Adds comment, detail)

BUCHAREST, April 18 (Reuters) - Bucharest-based energy group Premier Energy, owned by Czech investment firm EMMA Capital, said on Thursday it aims to secure 100 million euros ($107 million) from an initial public offering (IPO) on the Bucharest Stock Exchange.

One of the biggest renewable energy developers in Romania and Moldova, it expects to start trading on the Bucharest bourse in May.

"Premier Energy Group will seek to raise approximately 100 million euros, resulting from a capital increase with the exclusion of pre-emptive rights, and its main shareholder …EMMA Capital intends to sell existing shares of approximately 25 million euros," the company said in a statement.

Investment banks will start taking stock orders from investors after the local securities watchdog approves the prospectus for the share sale.

Premier Energy's float is the first energy offering on the Bucharest bourse since the 2023 listing of state-owned hydro power producer Hidroelectrica, one of Europe's largest IPOs.

The company currently has 1,000 MW of green projects under ownership, management or in development in Romania, evenly split between wind and solar and across the country. In March, it told Reuters it aims to boost its renewable energy portfolio to 1.5 GW over the next two to three years.

It built 10 MW of solar power in Moldova last year and is looking to add another 20 MW in 2024. The company also supplies and distributes energy, being the third largest gas distributor in Romania and the largest electricity supplier and distributor in Moldova.

Premier Energy began operating in Romania over a decade ago and its revenue has grown from 13 million euros to roughly 900 million euros in 2023, including through 25 acquisitions.

"As the largest renewables production manager and aggregator of solar and wind plants in Romania and Moldova, Premier Energy Group is well placed to benefit from the forecasted growth of renewables in the region and to build on our transformational recent acquisition of CEZ Vanzare and our successful track record of accretive acquisitions," CEO Jose Garza said.

($1 = 0.9359 euros) (Reporting by Luiza Ilie Editing by)