Shell share price: Group snaps up German energy storage company

Royal Dutch Shell (LON:RDSA) has inked a deal to acquire Germany energy storage company sonnen, the blue-chip oil major has said. The news after the Anglo-Dutch group  bought a stake in Asia-focused firm Cleantech Solar in December, and further splashed out $175 million on the rights to develop hundreds of turbines in the waters off New Jersey and Massachusetts.

Shell’s share price has climbed higher in today’s session, having added 0.27 percent to 2,433.50p as of 14:50 GMT. The stock is underperforming the broader UK market, with the benchmark FTSE 100 index currently standing 0.74 percent lower at 7,250.05 points.

Shell acquires sonnen

Shell announced in a statement today that it had agreed to acquire 100 percent of energy storage systems company sonnen. The move follows an investment by the Anglo-Dutch group in May last year and means that that post regulatory approval and completion sonnen will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Shell. The companies have not disclosed the value of the deal.

“sonnen is one of the global leaders in smart, distributed energy storage systems and has a track record of customer-focused innovation,” Mark Gainsborough, Executive Vice President New Energies at the FTSE 100 group commented in the statement.

Reuters quoted a sonnen spokesman as saying that regulatory approval and completion of the transaction, involving Shell New Energies, was expected in the first quarter of 2019. He added that the German company would continue to operate from the Bavarian town of Wildpoldsried and its top management would stay on.

Analysts on oil major

HSBC, which rates Shell as a ‘hold,’ boosted its price target on the shares from 2,640p to 2,750p this week. According to MarketBeat, the blue-chip oil group currently has a consensus ‘buy’ rating and an average price target of 2,936.07p.

As of 15:15 GMT, Friday, 15 February, Royal Dutch Shell Plc ‘A’ share price is 2,433.50p.