Successful workshop Energy & Value gives rise to international network

The University of Groningen organized a workshop with papers on "Energy & Value" in Amsterdam, late June. It brought together academics and practitioners from all over the world with a focus on how to assess value with energy companies in a time of restructuring, mergers and acquisitions and the arrival of a range of new players on the market. Because of the success of the workshop, an international network was set up, which will organize a subsequent conference in Turkey in 2009.

The workshop organization committee consisted of André Dorsman (VU/Nyenrode) and prof.dr. Dirk Swagerman and dr. Wim Westerman of the Faculty of Economics and Business. The keynote speech was delivered by prof.dr. Bert Scholtens of the Faculty.

No other industrial sector is currently as much on the move as the Energy sector. Global energy market growth and liberalization developments give rise to huge shifts in interests and business dynamics. Security of supply, price swifts and restructuring of international relations are examples of such developments. These changes create an urgent need for new knowledge and new skills.

An important aspect of the business that gets more challenging as a result of these dynamics is energy company valuation. As these companies are effectively bound to developments within the energy markets, newly introduced risks and legislation influence their company value. At the workshop various parties dealing with the new challenges met and shared their vision. The participants agreed that not only is there a lot of value issues to handle with energy companies, but there is also a lot of value for the participants to be provided with a platform for debating this important topic.

More information

Dr. Wim Westerman, tel. (050)363 7088, e-mail: w.westerman rug.nl