Vattenfall buys Swedfund’s share of Vattenfall Biomass Liberia AB

Vattenfall has decided to buy Swedfund’s share of their jointly owned company Vattenfall Biomass Liberia AB, in which Swedfund is a minority shareholder. The agreement whereby Swedfund will recover its invested capital of € 10.1 million plus interest was signed on 3 May 2012. Vattenfall Biomass Liberia AB is a shareholder of Buchanan Renewables Fuel, Liberia. This means that Swedfund will exit its committment in Liberia.

Swedfund’s mandate is to contribute through commercial investments to combat poverty. There is always a long-term perspective to the investments that Swedfund makes, and this is of course the case with this investment.

“Our intention was to remain in this investment for the long term, but Vattenfall has now decided to buy us out, and we assume that the company in Liberia will continue its business and play its part in the country’s development, even though Swedfund is no longer involved in the investment,” says Anders Craft, acting MD.

Buchanan Renewables Fuel (BRF) harvests over-aged unproductive rubber trees, which are classified as waste products from the production of rubber, and converts them into woodchips (biomass).

The decision to invest in BRF in Liberia in association with Vattenfall was made in March 2010, and Swedfund paid up its share of the capital in June 2010.

BRF will continue to run and develop the business and establish new goals that reflect local conditions. The business will henceforth operate in accordance with current CSR standards.

The capital that Swedfund recovers will be used for new investments in poor countries.

You can read more on www.buchananrenewables.com