From megawatts to platform positions
South East Europe’s energy M&A market is changing as the region’s transition moves beyond a megawatt-led phase. Developers have focused on wind and solar resource, investors on pipeline volume, and utilities on decarbonisation assets. The earlier approach remains relevant, but it is no longer sufficient for valuations across Greece, Romania, Bulgaria, Croatia, Serbia and the wider Western Balkans.
The emerging thesis centres on platforms rather than individual projects. A renewable project is described as valuable, while a grid-secured, operating, contracted, multi-market renewable platform is positioned as more valuable. This difference is cited as shaping how deals are priced in the region.
Global deal momentum and regional constraints
The shift aligns with a broader global trend highlighted in PwC’s 2026 energy, utilities and resources M&A outlook. The outlook states that global power and utilities deal value rose by around 57% from 2024 to 2025. It attributes the increase to rising electricity demand, energy security concerns and investor appetite for large capacity-driven transactions.
In South East Europe, the same drivers are present alongside additional market factors. The region is described as addressing grid congestion, coal-transition risk, market-coupling gaps, negative prices, storage needs and energy-security concerns. The result is framed as investors seeking strategic positions in a market becoming more volatile and more integrated.
Examples of platform-led transactions
Masdar’s acquisition of TERNA Energy is presented as a benchmark for strategic platform value. The transaction values TERNA Energy at an enterprise value of around €3.2 billion. TERNA Energy has around 1.2 GW of operating capacity and a target of 6 GW by 2029.
The deal structure is described as reflecting payment beyond existing operating megawatts. It is characterised as valuing a platform, a development engine and regional optionality. Another example cited is PPC’s acquisition of Evryo in Romania.
PPC acquired a 629 MW operating renewables portfolio, mainly onshore wind, plus about 145 MW of pipeline assets. The enterprise value is stated as approximately €700 million. The transaction was expected to add about €100 million of annual EBITDA.
The Evryo acquisition is also linked to PPC’s expansion as a regional utility. A Greek incumbent buying Romanian wind assets is cited as evidence of cross-border consolidation in SEE power markets. Utilities are described as increasingly considering regional generation, customer supply, trading exposure and portfolio balancing.
Industrial partnerships and cross-border solar development
The PPC–Metlen cooperation is described as pointing in the same direction as platform-focused logic. The two Greek groups agreed to develop up to 2 GW of solar projects across Italy, Romania, Bulgaria and Croatia. The framework value is estimated at up to €2 billion.
The arrangement specifies that Metlen develops and constructs projects while PPC acquires projects after grid connection. This structure is described as showing how M&A can evolve from acquisitions into industrial partnerships rather than only project purchases.
Valuation implications for pipelines, contracted cash flows and storage
The material outlines three implications for how deals are assessed in the region. First, early-stage pipelines are no longer valued mainly by headline megawatts when grid access, land status, permits or offtake are unclear. It notes that a theoretical pipeline can appear inexpensive while grid-secured pipeline capacity remains scarce across SEE.
Second, operating assets with contracted revenues are described as premium assets. TotalEnergies’ sale of 50% of a 424 MW Greek wind and solar portfolio to Asterion valued the portfolio at €508 million, or about €1.2 million per MW installed. EDPR’s sale of a 150 MW Greek operating wind portfolio to Principia involved assets with 20-year CfDs.
Third, storage optionality is described as increasingly part of renewable value creation. A solar project with battery-ready grid capacity is said to attract more interest than standalone solar exposed entirely to midday price cannibalisation. The point is tied to expectations that negative prices and intra-day spreads grow across SEE.
A hierarchy for megawatt valuation in Southeast Europe
The article describes a rule-of-thumb that not all megawatts carry the same value in the current market environment. It states that a permitted MW is worth more than a paper MW, while a grid-secured MW exceeds a permitted MW. It also says contracted operating MW carries more value than merchant MW.
A further distinction is made for storage-ready capacity, which may soon be worth more than standalone generation without storage readiness. On this basis, South East Europe’s energy M&A market is described as entering a more selective phase where buyers pay highest prices for platforms combining operating cash flow, development capability, grid access, storage optionality and regional strategic fit.
The next wave of SEE deals is described as not being won by the largest spreadsheet pipeline alone. Instead, it points to control over the most bankable positions within the electricity system.
