PIKA Energy seeks co-investor to back European biogas platform

A recently launched, Italy-based biomethane development platform is looking to bring in a majority co-investor to support the development, construction and operation of a circa EUR 500m project portfolio. 

Formed in 2023 by senior executives with a track record in the biogas space, Pika Energy has now lined up access to a close to 30-project pipeline of operational, construction-ready and development stage biomethane projects across Italy and Spain, it is understood.

Pika is understood to have begun sounding out interested parties over the sale of an up to circa 80% stake in the platform in December 2023 – with the aim of securing EUR 300m-EUR 500m in investment – and is expected to have drawn up a bidder shortlist by the start of February.

The group, which is offering the incoming partner a net IRR of 13%-15%, is understood to be aiming to select a preferred bidder by the end of March and to have closed out the deal by the end of June.

The opportunity is mooted to have drawn initial interest from around a dozen parties. Toto Holding subsidiary Renexia, DWS and Goldman Sachs are some of the names to have been connected to the process, among others.

Pika is understood to also be in the final stages of selecting a financial advisor to support it through the latter stages of the capital raising process.

The group currently has around 27 projects in its pipeline, split between Spain (14) and Italy (13), while it is also starting to evaluate opportunities in France and the UK.

The Italian portfolio is split between six operational or ready-to-build plants across Apulia, Umbria, Abruzzo with a combined annual production capacity of 279,310MWh, and a further seven schemes in development with an anticipated annual production capacity of 315,350 MWh pencilled in for commissioning over Q4 2025 – Q2 2026.

Italian biomethane projects can currently bid for long-term CfD style feed-in tariffs for energy produced.

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