In this episode, we sit down with Mathieu Lefebvre, the co-founder and CEO of Waga Energy, a French clean energy company that listed on Euronext Paris in October 2021 in a €126 million IPO. Only six years after founding the company, Mathieu and his co-founders chose the public markets to fund Waga’s international expansion. Mathieu and his team led the company through volatile markets, higher inflation, a difficult €55 million follow-on capital raise in 2024, and ultimately to a take-private by EQT, announced in June 2025.
Waga Energy has developed a unique technology, the Wagabox, that converts landfill gas into renewable natural gas, turning a major source of greenhouse gas emissions into a usable energy source that is injected directly into the local gas grid. The business is capital intensive but with high visibility: Waga invests in, owns and operates its units under 15 to 20 year contracts with landfill operators and gas utilities. From a French startup, the company has grown into a global player with 55 projects today across seven countries in Europe, North America and Latin America.
With Mathieu, we discuss why a young company chose to list so early, the realities of being a small cap in a turbulent equity market — including a forced exit from the MSCI small and mid cap index that triggered a sharp share price correction just before the 2024 capital raise, and ultimately the strategic decision to return to private ownership with EQT.
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