Energy M&A Market in the Baltic States Analyzed through the Lens of Sustainable Development

Karolis Andriuškevičius () and Dalia Štreimikienė ()
Additional contact information
Karolis Andriuškevičius: Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, Vilnius University, Saulėtekio Ave 9, LT-01513 Vilnius, Lithuania
Dalia Štreimikienė: Lithuanian Energy Institute, Breslaujos St. 3, LT-44403 Kaunas, Lithuania

Energies, 2022, vol. 15, issue 21, 1-21

Abstract: Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) may serve as a catalyst in energy transition by accelerating this trend and “greenwashing” the deals. M&A are often used by large energy companies as a tool to explore potential synergy benefits. Recently, M&A strategies in the energy industry have been pursued to transform traditional business models into more “sustainable” models. On the one hand, it may be observed that companies are taking a proactive rather than reactive approach towards environmental-, social-, and governance (ESG)-related M&A deals. On the other hand, sustainable M&A deals do not interest activist shareholders and regulatory authorities only anymore. Inclusion of a sustainability framework and managing ESG-related risks have become part of the overall strategy of most companies within the energy industry. This research addresses the problem of how energy M&A are contributing to sustainable development on the one hand and reflecting sustainable developments on the other hand. The current research focuses on the systematic literature on the M&A deals in the energy industry through the lens of sustainability by applying the SALSA methodology. Further, we applied a SWOT analysis of M&A in the energy industry from the perspective of sustainable development. Thomson Reuters DataStream 5.1 database was used for developing a case study. A sample of Lithuanian, Latvian, and Estonian energy companies that were involved as acquirers or targets in the M&A events from 1995 to 2020 was developed. Establishing a methodological approach construed of SALSA, SWOT, and case study analyses allowed us to bridge a gap in the existing literature and provoke further discussion in regards to market developments through the lens of sustainable development. The research results showed that there are relatively few M&A of renewable companies as the M&A market is dominated by traditional energy companies within Baltic states. However, companies in the Baltic states are pursuing energy security, have set targets for emission reductions, renewables and energy efficiency, are supporting EU climate neutrality, and put great emphasis on climate change mitigation.

Keywords: sustainability; energy; SWOT; ESG; developments; mergers and acquisitions (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/15/21/7907/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/15/21/7907/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jeners:v:15:y:2022:i:21:p:7907-:d:952528

Access Statistics for this article

Energies is currently edited by Ms. Agatha Cao

More articles in Energies from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().