Ikea Buys Romania Wind Farms to Reduce Climate Impact

(Bloomberg) -- Ikea will acquire an 80% stake in seven wind farms in Romania from Vestas Wind Systems A/S for 136 million euros ($150 million) as part of an effort to reduce its climate impact.

The investment, made by Ikea franchisee Ingka Group, consists of 64 turbines with a combined capacity of 171 megawatts, the company said in an emailed statement on Friday. Completion of the deal is still subject to regulatory approval and is expected at the end of October.

“The 80% stake supports our target to generate as much renewable energy as we consume,” Ingka Investments Managing Director Krister Mattsson said.

The output is equivalent to the electricity consumption of more than 65 Ikea stores, or 150,000 Romanian households and exceeds the consumption of Ikea’s supply chain in Romania. Ingka now has 534 wind turbines in 14 countries, as well as 900,000 solar modules on its sites.

Ingka Group is the largest Ikea franchisee and operates 367 stores in 30 countries.

To contact the reporter on this story: Niklas Magnusson in Stockholm at nmagnusson1@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Tasneem Hanfi Brögger at tbrogger@bloomberg.net, ;Lars Paulsson at lpaulsson@bloomberg.net, Niclas Rolander

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