Acquisition of Pinnacle Renewable Energy by Drax Group now complete

Drax Group has completed its acquisition of Pinnacle Renewable Energy Inc.

The acquisition of the Canadian supplier of sustainable bioenergy pellets was first announced in February, and has since received overwhelming support from shareholders of both companies. Pinnacle’s shareholders voted 95.97 per cent in favour of the acquisition while Drax’s support was 99.99 per cent.

Pinnacle, headquartered in British Columbia, will operate as a subsidiary of Drax. Its workforce of more than 480 employees, including its leadership, have been welcomed into the Drax fold.

As a result of the acquisition, Drax Group, based in the U.K., now owns or has an interest in 17 pellet plants and development projects across Canada and the southern United States. The company has the capacity to produce 4.9 million tonnes of bioenergy wood pellets annually from 2022, with access to four deep water port facilities and three major wood fibre baskets.

Drax operates the world’s largest sustainable power station fueled by bioenergy in the U.K., and aims to become a world leader in bioenergy carbon capture and storage. Drax plans to be carbon negative by 2030.

“This is an exciting and important acquisition which positions Drax as the world’s leading sustainable bioenergy generation and supply business,” Will Gardiner, chief executive officer of Drax, said. “I am delighted to welcome our new Pinnacle colleagues to the Drax family. Together we will help secure a zero carbon, lower cost, energy future by enhancing and growing sustainable bioenergy around the world. We are extremely proud that through this acquisition Drax becomes the world’s leading sustainable bioenergy generation and supply company, operating across North America, the U.K., Europe and Asia.”

Duncan Davies, chief executive officer at Pinnacle, said the transaction marks the beginning of an exciting new future for Pinnacle.

“Drax is a world-class organization with an ambitious vision for sustainable biomass and a willingness to invest in the business,” he said. “As part of Drax, we will continue to build a positive, inclusive and safe workplace and support the communities in which we operate through our partnerships with First Nations and local businesses. Bioenergy has an important role in enhancing forest health, and we look forward to working with the Drax team on our shared commitment to world-leading sustainability standards.”