IKEA parent confirms acquisition of Vestas’ 80% stake in Romanian wind farms

Ingka Group, the parent company of Swedish furniture giant IKEA, has confirmed in a press release it has reached an agreement with Denmark’s Vestas Wind Systems to acquire an 80% stake in 7 wind farm entities in South-East Romania.

Although the transaction between IKEA’s parent company and the Danish wind turbine manufacturer is signed, final completion is still subject to regulatory approval and is expected at the end of October, Ingka Group said.

The acquisition was made by the investment arm of Ingka Group, Ingka Investments, and consists of 64 turbines totaling 171 MW. The production of the wind farms combined is the equivalent of more than IKEA 65 stores or 150,000 Romanian households and exceeds the electricity consumption of the IKEA supply chain in Romania, according to the press release.

Acquisition contributing to climate positive ambition

“Investing in renewable energy is part of our financial assets management and fully supports our sustainability targets and is part of our activities to contribute to our climate positive ambition. We maintain high ambitions for renewable energy generation where we aim to generate more renewable energy than we consume, so we will continue to invest in renewable energy across our operations,” said Krister Mattsson, Managing Director Ingka Investments, Ingka Group.

Ingka Group now owns and operates 900,000 solar modules on its sites and 534 wind turbines in 14 countries. Romania is the 14th country where Ingka Group has invested in wind energy. The most recent acquisition was in a German offshore wind farm.

Ingka Investments has been investing in renewable energy and sustainable investments since 2009. It invests in responsibly managed forest land in the Baltic States, Romania, and the USA. It also invests in companies that are active in recycling and sustainable technologies. By doing this it is supporting a circular economy and the long-term supply of sustainable materials, the press release notes.