Metacon becomes the majority shareholder in Botnia Hydrogen

Metacon recently announced that it has increased its ownership in Botnia Hydrogen AB, becoming the majority shareholder. The transaction was executed through a set-off issue and will not affect the company's current cash position. We view the transaction positively, supporting Metacon’s expansion into the growing hydrogen-based road transport sector, though the immediate financial impact is likely limited.

Majority ownership secured through set-off issue

Metacon has increased its shareholding in Botnia Hydrogen from 21.6% to 60.8%. The transaction was carried out through a share issue by set-off amounting to 10 MSEK, where the consideration was set off against a receivable from Botnia. Consequently, the transaction has no impact on Metacon's current cash position. Following the transaction, Botnia will be financially consolidated as a subsidiary of Metacon. Botnia is a small company that, according to the latest publicly available figures, generated around 0.5 MSEK in revenue with a negative ~0.4 MSEK operating profit.  The company currently owns two electrolyzers in Sweden and operates production units and refueling stations for green hydrogen.

Limited immediate impact on estimates

In our view, Metacon has built large capabilities in hydrogen-based road transport. However, the market remains at a very early stage and has yet to prove itself sufficiently mature to serve as a reliable business foundation. Metacon’s primary focus has therefore been on large-scale electrolyzer projects within the industrial sector. Nevertheless, we believe the transportation sector offers attractive long-term growth prospects, and the transaction allows Metacon to further expand into the hydrogen production market, serving both vehicle refueling and other applications, without significantly burdening its cash position. Furthermore, according to the announcement, the transaction is intended to prepare for a potential future divestment of existing refueling station assets and operations to specialized operators. We view the strategic rationale of separating production from station operations as logical, as it would enable Metacon to focus on its core strength, facilitating cost-efficient production of green hydrogen. While the consolidation of Botnia Hydrogen will contribute to Metacon’s reported figures, we do not expect the transaction to result in material changes to our estimates at this stage, given it’s relatively modest size.