16th Sep 2015 06:54
LONDON (Alliance News) - Balfour Beatty Infrastructure Partners LP, a fund in which Balfour Beatty PLC invests, on Wednesday said it has agreed a deal to acquire Alkane Energy PLC in a deal valuing the energy company at GBP61.4 million.
Balfour Beatty Infrastructure Partners, a mid-market infrastructure investment firm which operates independently of Balfour Beatty PLC, said it has agreed to pay 36 pence per share for AIM-listed Alkane Energy, a 44% premium to the closing price the day before the deal was revealed.
Alkane Energy, which operates mid-sized "gas to power" electricity plants, intends to recommend the deal to its shareholders. It has onshore petroleum exploration and development licences, enabling it to operate coal mine methane sites extracting gas from abandoned coal mines.
The company also operates power response sites connected to mains gas to produce electricity when there is high electrical demand or to balance the electricity grid.
Shareholders with 35.34% of Alkane Energy have already agreed to accept the offer.
"This offer enables Alkane shareholders to realise value today in cash for their shares at a significant premium to the recent historical share price, which, in the board's view, has been impacted by negative sentiment towards the energy industry and continued regulatory scrutiny," Alkane Chairman Roger McDowell said in a statement.
"BBIP have a well-respected track record in the infrastructure sector and as a patient investor, will be able to support the company's longer term growth ambitions, building on its current portfolio of baseload CMM generation and power response sites," McDowell added.
Rob Gregor, managing partner of Balfour Beatty Infrastructure Partners LLP, investment advisor to Balfour Beatty Infrastructure Partners LP, said: "BBIP is attracted to the flexibility and diversification of generation provided by the independent power platform of Alkane. We see great opportunity in the business and believe BBIP is an excellent partner to support the next phase of Alkane's development, and thereby contribute to the security of the UK power supply."
In 2014, Alkane reported a GBP3.2 million pretax profit on revenue of GBP16.0 million, followed by a GBP1.4 million pretax profit on revenue of GBP8.7 million in the first half of 2015.
By Samuel Agini; [email protected]; @samuelagini
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