Helsingin Sanomat is writing about Steady Energy (for subscribers).
Highlights:
The company is only three and a half years old.
Isn’t it too early to go public?
“When making investments that span decades, we want to send a signal that we are here for the long haul. We are not a startup whose ownership base might change completely after a short while,” Nyman justifies.
A startup’s ownership base can sometimes be quite broad, and previously nearly half of Steady Energy’s shares were also owned by foreign venture capitalists. Now, domestic ownership is being strengthened.
According to Nyman, it is also important that a company building nuclear power is publicly listed and therefore subject to tighter scrutiny and regulation. Nuclear energy comes with exceptionally high safety and social acceptance requirements.
If a small modular reactor is built in your local municipality, there is undeniably a different tone depending on whether the plant is built by a private startup or a listed company backed by pension funds.
Prominent investors are involved in 3NP, such as Supercell CEO Ilkka Paananen, Lifeline Ventures partner Timo Ahopelto, and former CEO of Nokia and Fortum Pekka Lundmark. Lundmark will become the company’s Chairman of the Board.
At the same time, nine pension funds and other institutional investors are investing nearly 70 million euros into the company, acquiring nearly 20 percent of the company in a targeted offering. Domestic anchor investors include Finnish Industry Investment (Tesi), Ilmarinen, Varma, and Elo.
Only a 1.5 percent slice of shares was offered to the general public, worth five million euros.
The IPO structure also involves exceptionally complex arrangements, share classes, and incentives aimed at various shareholders. For example, these could dilute shareholders’ ownership stakes as the share price rises.
At the same time, the European Investment Bank (EIB) is financing Steady Energy with a total of 40 million euros in convertible bonds. It has the right to convert the loan into shares later.
The loan is the first the EIB has ever granted to a small modular reactor project, and is part of the EU’s new small modular nuclear power development strategy.
Although there are around a hundred different small modular reactor development projects underway worldwide, in Europe’s district heating sector there is currently only one direct competitor, the French company Calogena.
Steady Energy’s order book currently includes preliminary letters of intent for several reactors. The furthest along is the project with Kuopion Energia, where the city is currently working on zoning and an environmental impact assessment for up to three of Steady Energy’s district heating reactors.
In Helsinki, Helen has a nuclear program to replace combustion-based energy production. Kerava and Jyväskylä are also interested in small modular reactors.
The European Investment Bank announced that investment on September 15:
EIB backs Finnish nuclear technology company Steady Energy with €40 million financing