OMV Petrom has agreed to buy half of a 130 MW solar portfolio in Romania from Renovatio. When the deal was announced, no price was given, and early coverage estimated a multiple of about $0.5 million per MW. Leap's deal record now carries a figure. It is far lower than that estimate, and lower than most Romanian solar deals with a disclosed price.
Key takeaways
- OMV Petrom agreed on 7 June 2024 to acquire a 50% stake in a 130 MW solar portfolio in Romania from Renovatio Group, with completion expected in the second half of 2024, subject to conditions.
- The OMV Petrom and Renovatio portfolio comprises three ready-to-build photovoltaic projects that have already obtained access to the transmission grid, and the partners will develop, build and operate them together.
- Leap records a consideration of $7.3 million for the 50% stake, which grosses up to about $14.6 million for the whole 130 MW portfolio, or roughly $0.11 million per MW.
- Enerdatics estimates that power from the OMV Petrom and Renovatio solar portfolio will be sold on Romania's merchant market rather than under a fixed-price contract.
- Enerdatics records 30 Romanian solar M&A deals announced between January 2023 and June 2025, of which 14 carry a disclosed value.
What did OMV Petrom buy from Renovatio?
OMV Petrom bought half of three photovoltaic projects in Romania with a combined capacity of 130 MW. The projects are ready to build and have secured access to the transmission grid. They will be developed, built and operated as a partnership between the two companies.
This is the second time in six months the two have done business. In January 2024, OMV Petrom took a 50% stake in Electrocentrale Borzesti from Renovatio's RNV Infrastructure, a company holding a large wind and solar portfolio. With the solar deal added, the joint portfolio held by the two companies exceeds 1.1 GW, and the partners expect total joint installed capacity of more than 1.1 GW by 2030.
For OMV Petrom the deal fits a wider plan. Of roughly $12 billion it intends to invest by 2030, about a third is allocated to low and zero-carbon projects. Buying halves of projects from an established local developer is a fast way to build that book without running a development team from scratch.
How much did OMV Petrom pay, and why does the figure differ from early reports?
The deal value was not disclosed at announcement. Leap's deal record now carries a consideration of $7.3 million. Divided by the full 130 MW, that reads as $0.06 million per MW, but that division is wrong, because OMV Petrom bought half the portfolio, not all of it.
Grossing the stake up to 100% gives an implied value of about $14.6 million for the whole portfolio. Spread across 130 MW, that is roughly $0.11 million per MW. That is the figure to compare with other deals.
Early coverage of the transaction, including the original version of this post, estimated a multiple of around $0.5 million per MW. Leap's figure is a fraction of that. The most likely reason is what the payment covers. The projects are ready to build, not built, and the partners will build them together after closing. A price paid for a ready-to-build stake buys the permits, land rights and grid connection. It does not include the panels, inverters and construction work that make up most of a solar farm's final cost.
Who will buy the power from these projects?
Enerdatics estimates that the power will be sold on Romania's merchant market, meaning at wholesale prices that change hour to hour rather than under a long-term fixed-price contract. Leap gives three reasons for that estimate.
First, corporate power purchase agreements are new in Romania. The country banned them in 2012, began easing the restriction in 2020 and lifted the ban fully in 2022. Some buyers have since signed, including a 25-year corporate PPA for a 42.9 MW Romanian solar plant, but the route remains relatively new for solar assets.
Second, state support is only now arriving. Romania was due to hold its first contracts for difference auction in 2024. A contract for difference is a state-backed contract that pays a generator the gap between a fixed strike price and the market price. The European Commission had also approved a $3.2 billion package from the Modernisation Fund for 5 GW of solar and wind.
Third, generators are choosing merchant exposure on purpose. Volatile prices have made some producers prefer the wholesale market to fixed contracts. In March 2024 the EBRD announced financing for its first fully merchant solar project in Romania.
Where does the price sit among Romanian solar deals?
It sits at the bottom of a market that prices in two distinct bands.
Enerdatics' data shows 30 Romanian solar M&A deals announced between January 2023 and June 2025, of which 14 carry a disclosed value. Among priced acquisitions of projects still under development, the values split cleanly. A low band runs from about $0.12 million to $0.17 million per MW: PNE's 208 MWp sale to TotalEnergies for $25 million, Metlen's 211 MW sale to HELLENiQ ENERGY for $26.5 million, OMV Petrom's own purchase of the 708 MW Theia cluster for $92 million, and Tupras' $35.46 million purchase of the 214 MW Niculesti plant. A high band runs from about $0.78 million to $1.10 million per MW, including DTEK's $125 million for the 126 MW Vacaresti park, MET Group's $80 million for an 80 MW ready-to-build project and NEPI Rockcastle's $55 million for a 50 MW park.
At roughly $0.11 million per MW after grossing up, OMV Petrom's Renovatio stake sits just below the low band and close to its own Theia price of about $0.13 million per MW. These per-MW figures are calculated on headline deal values and may cover different scopes. The gap between the bands most likely reflects what each payment buys, with the higher prints closer to finished plants and the lower ones closer to permits and a grid connection.
What does the deal signal for Romanian solar?
It signals that the cheapest way into Romanian solar is to buy rights rather than megawatts, and that OMV Petrom has adopted that approach consistently. Its Theia cluster and now the Renovatio portfolio were both bought at the low end of the market.
It also signals how much Romanian solar now depends on the wholesale market. A buyer paying a development-stage price, with no fixed-price contract and an expected merchant route, is betting on its own ability to manage price risk. For a large integrated energy group, that may be the point. Projects as large as the 1.3 GWp Dama scheme have needed a consortium of 14 lenders, and well-capitalised strategic buyers can avoid some of that complexity by building on their own balance sheets.
Finally, the deal shows why per-MW comparisons in Romania need care. Halving the stake, and separating permits from construction, moves the same transaction from $0.06 million to $0.11 million per MW, and far away from the early estimate of $0.5 million.
Frequently asked questions
What did OMV Petrom buy from Renovatio in June 2024? OMV Petrom agreed to buy a 50% stake in a 130 MW portfolio of three ready-to-build solar projects in Romania, with completion expected in the second half of 2024.
How much did OMV Petrom pay for the Renovatio solar stake? Leap records $7.3 million for the 50% stake, implying about $14.6 million for the full portfolio, or roughly $0.11 million per MW.
Who advised on the OMV Petrom and Renovatio solar deal? Schoenherr acted as legal advisor to Renovatio.
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