21st Dec 2006 10:50
Origo Sino-India PLC21 December 2006 NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION IN THE UNITED STATES, CANADA, JAPAN, AUSTRALIA OR THE REPUBLIC OF IRELAND For Immediate Release 21 December 2006 ORIGO-SINO INDIA PLC (the "Company") SUCCESSFUL £12.8 MILLION FUNDRAISING AND ADMISSION TO AIM "Capitalising on investment opportunities in China and India" Origo Sino-India plc (the "Company", "Origo") (LSE:OSI), the investment andstrategic consultancy advisory company, that focuses on private equity marketsin China and India, has recently published its Admission Document and itsOrdinary Shares and Warrants (LSE:OSIW) have today been admitted to trading onthe AIM market of the London Stock Exchange Plc. The Company has raised £12.8mgross and has also issued warrants at a 10% premium to the issue price, anddealings in the Ordinary Shares and the Warrants commenced today. Key Highlights • Origo is a private equity investor and a strategic consultancydivision. It provides its shareholders with exposure to growth opportunities andprivate equity returns in China and India. • Origo enjoys profitable revenue streams from both private equityinvesting and strategic consultancy services. The company invests in privatecompanies in expectation of capital gains, while charging fees for consultingservices related to further fundraisings, M&A and strategic development. • Origo has aligned itself with two major institutions who provide asource of high quality deal flow. In China, Origo will work closely withChinaEquity, a leading private equity firm. In India, Origo has entered into amemorandum of understanding with SBI Capital Markets ("SBI CAP"), one of theoldest players in the Indian Capital Markets. Origo has a former chairman of SBIand the chief executive of ChinaEquity on its board, the latter as its executivechairman. • SBI CAP provides Origo with an opportunity to review the prospect ofinvesting in its clients in India which are looking for equity fund raisings ofup to $20 million through private placement. • Origo has signed agreements with 2 Chinese companies and 7 Indiancompanies to provide both financing and advisory services. Many of thesecompanies are profitable, at expansion or late stage, and are ready for sale orfor independent listings. Origo currently has 9 portfolio companies in China,most of which are in early stage. • The pipeline is also strong with 23 potential investments inexpansion stage or late stage. The current pipeline of identified investmentopportunities focuses on the telecom, media and technology (TMT) and industrialsectors, where growth is particularly strong in both countries and where thecompany's management have a successful track record and expertise. • The management and support services are based in China with themanagement team having many years of Sino-India investment experience. Coreteam members have realised a number of private equity investments in the past. The Placing Statistics • Origo has raised £12.8 million gross of new money via a placing of 25,673,238 Ordinary Shares at a price of 50 pence per share • Each Ordinary Share carries a warrant exercisable at 55p • Market capitalisation on Admission is expected to be approximately £32.6 million • The placing proceeds will be used to make new equity investments in China and India, as well as follow-on investments in certain existing portfolio companies • Dealings in Origo Ordinary Shares commenced on AIM on 21 December 2006 • Seymour Piece Limited is the nominated adviser and broker Commenting on the AIM Admission, Chris Rynning, Chief Executive Officer ofOrigo, said: "We are delighted to have received strong investor support at a global level forthis fundraising and flotation. It's an exciting time for Origo. The AIMflotation provides funds to strengthen the balance sheet, make strategicinvestments, and in turn maximise shareholder returns going forward." For further information, please call: Origo PlcChris Rynning, CEO Tel: +86 1390 124 6417Vinay Ganga, Managing Director India Tel: 0773310 995Seymour Pierce Stuart Lane/ Matt Thomas Tel: 0207 107 8000Buchanan CommunicationsTim Anderson/Rebecca Skye Dietrich Tel: 020 7466 5000 *Photos are available from Buchanan Communications, please call 020 7466 5000* NOTES TO EDITORS About Origo The Group intends to pursue two principal lines of business: investment ingrowth companies, and the provision of consultancy services. The latter willcomprise fundraising assistance, M&A consultancy, operational support and a fullrange of management services. Origo's business model is to develop a profitablestream of consultancy revenues together with above average capital gains fromprivate equity investments in portfolio companies. Board of Directors Wang Chao Yong, aged 41, Executive Chairman (Beijing) A Chinese citizen, Mr. Wang is the founding partner and CEO of ChinaEquity, aChina-based venture capital firm focusing on TMT sectors in Greater China.Before founding China Equity in 1999, Mr. Wang had spent 12 years in theinvestment banking and financial services industry with Chase, Standard & Poors,Morgan Stanley and China Development Bank and headed Morgan Stanley's Beijingoperation for three years. Mr. Wang has won several venture capital awards inChina. He also advises several government funds and organisations. Mr. Wang wasa founding member of China Venture Capital Association. He is also theco-Chairman of China Team, the first Chinese team to enter The America's Cup. Chris Rynning, aged 39, Chief Executive Officer (Beijing/Mumbai) Chris has the overall responsibility for Origo's operations, investments andservices worldwide. A Norwegian national based in Beijing since 1997, Chris wasthe Founder and Joint Managing Partner of Ascend Ventures Limited, thepredecessor of Origo. Now residing in Beijing and Mumbai, Chris was previouslyManaging Partner of MINT, a PwC Consulting's joint venture investment arm inChina which invested in technology start-ups in the internet, telecom and mediasectors. Before that, he served as a Regional Director of Asia with Elkem, anOslo and Frankfurt listed company. In that capacity, Chris led the largestforeign investment in NorthWest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous region at thattime, for which he was awarded a symbolic honorary citizenship of China. Intotal, Chris has over 12 years of emerging and established market experience,gained in China, India, Russia, Japan, France and the US. A graduate of ESSEC inParis, Chris holds an MBA with a specialisation in Finance from the Universityof Chicago, Graduate School of Business. Vinay Ganga, aged 37, Managing Director India/Chief Legal Counsel (Mumbai/London) Prior to joining Origo, Vinay served until recently as a partner at leadinginternational law firm Reed Smith where he was at the forefront of the China andIndia practice of the firm. He has 10 years of experience representing Fortune500 companies, small to mid-market companies and financial institutions in bothcountries on a variety of corporate finance (both public and private equity) andproject finance matters. His multinational clients included Pilkington Plc,Abbot Labs, Dana Corp, TIW (now Vodafone), Bharti Televentures, BPL India,Reliance Industries and North American Coal Corp. His financial institutionclients included N.M. Rothschilds & Sons, Starwood Capital, ABN Amro Bank,SBICAP, Bank of America, CITIC Corp and CIBC Oppenheimer. Vinay has advisedseveral companies on their London listings. He is a Felix Scholar from theRhodes Scholarship Trust and studied law at the University of Oxford. Vinay isalso a part time partner at international law firm, Stephenson Harwood. Lou Lin, aged 47, Finance Director (Beijing) Lou Lin is responsible for the aspects related to finance, accounting, and legalcompliance. He also oversees Origo's portfolio companies and new investments.Lou Lin joined the company from DHL Solution China, where he served as the ChiefFinancial Controller from 1999 until 2006. At DHL, Lou Lin led the countryfinance and controlling team and was accountable for overall business unitfinancial management, annual business planning and budgeting, GAAP accountingand regulatory compliance. Before his tenure with DHL, Lin held executivepositions with Royal Dutch Shell and Andersen Consulting. A qualified CPA, Louholds an MBA degree from the University of Chicago, GSB. Dipankar Basu, aged 71, Non Executive Director (Mumbai) With a Master's degree in Economics from Delhi University, Mr Basu spent hisentire career with State Bank of Inida ("SBI") eventually rising to the positionof the Chairman of SBI and retiring in August 1995. While serving as Chairman ofSBI, he served concurrently on the Boards of a number of SBI subsidiaries andother financial institutions. He was the first CEO of SBICAP and led the bank'sentry into mutual fund business. Between 1996 and 1999, Mr. Basu served as amember of the Divestment Commission set up to advise the Government of India onpublic sector divestments. During 1997-98, Mr. Basu was a member of theNarasimham Committee on Banking Sector Reforms. Mr. Basu brings with him longexperience and a deep knowledge of financial markets in India. He also hasseveral years of Board level experience in companies engaged in a wide spectrumof businesses - both financial and non-financial. In addition to his Directorship of Origo, Mr. Dipankar Basu is the currentnon-executive Chairman of Securities Trading Corporation of India Limited, RainCalcining Limited, Peerless General Finance & Investment Company Ltd and UTISecurities Limited. He is also on the Boards of several other companies in Indiaand serves on the following committees: Member of the Advisory Panel of IndiaConsumer Growth Fund, Member of the Investment Advisory of Army Group InsuranceFund, New Delhi; Member of the Governing Council of Indian Institute of CapitalMarkets (formerly UTI Institute of Capital Markets) Mumbai and Member of theEmpowered Committee for External Commercial Bank (Reserve Bank of India). Christopher Jemmett, aged 70, Non Executive Deputy Chairman (London) Christopher Jemmett spent most of his career with Unilever as a member of theboards and executive committee of Unilever Plc and Unilever NV from 1988 untilhis retirement in 1997. Holding early appointments in Central Purchasing andaudit departments of Unilever, Mr Jemmett was appointed the Managing Director ofHohnen Lever Tokyo in 1970 and president of Unilever Japan KK in 1973. MrJemmett later took the position as Chairman of United Africa Company, as well astaking responsibility for Unilever's Africa and Middle East Regional ManagementGroup. In 1992 he was appointed regional director of Unilever for Latin Americaand Central Asia, Chairman of Unilever's Overseas Committee and Director of theAgribusiness Co-ordination/Plantation Group. Currently, Christopher Jemmett is a non-executive director of Friends ProvidentPLC and the Deputy Chairman and Senior Independent Director of F&C AssetManagement PLC. Mr Jemmett is the head of the Audit and Compliance Committees ofboth those companies, as well as the head of the Audit Committee of Origo. Whilewith F&C, Mr. Jemmett has been deeply involved in several key acquisitions anddevelopments including ISIS Asset Management PLC in October 2004. With FriendsProvident, Mr. Jemmett has been involved in the acquisitions of LombardInternational of Luxembourg, as well as earlier acquisitions of London andManchester, R&SA Investments and R&SA International. While with Unilever, MrJemmett led extensive M&A activity successfully completing takeovers and mergerswith very large consumer goods companies in India, China, the Middle East andAfrica. Key Management Sigbjorn Dugal, aged 35, Managing Director (Beijing/Mumbai) A Norwegian national of Indian descent Sigbjorn Dugal, is an entrepreneur andinvestor with a proven record of successfully launching and growing businessesin China. As Joint Managing Partner of Ascend Ventures Limited ("Ascend"), heled the investment in Zapdance (wireless services), Spiced Bits (softwareoutsourcing), OS Consulting (hospitality), and ISAK (furniture). Prior toAscend, Sigbjorn founded and served as the Chief Operating Officer of MezzmeLtd, a Chinese wireless service provider focusing on the media sector. Beforesettling down in Beijing in 2000, he was a partner of GaDu Invest, anentertainment and hospitality management company which he co-founded in 1994.The Company launched several successful ventures in Norway. Sigjborn holds aMBA from the University of New South Wales. Niklas Ponnert, aged 30, Managing Director (Beijing) Niklas brings a background in business analysis and financial consulting, aswell as close to five years of venture capital investment experience in China.Niklas joined the Group from Siemens Venture Capital, where he was a foundingmember of Siemens Acceleration Fund. In that capacity, he was associated withSiemens' minority investments in seven Chinese technology companies. Before hisforay into venture capital investing, Niklas worked with LECG, a NASDAQ listedeconomic and financial consulting firm. Niklas also spent a few years at a U.C.Berkeley affiliated think-tank, researching technology and business trends inAsia-Pacific. A Swedish national, Niklas received his BA with highest honoursfrom U.C. Berkeley. He has lived in Beijing since 2001 and is a fluent speakerof Mandarin Chinese. Current Market Position The Directors believe that Origo is the only entity that proposes to invest andprovide strategic and corporate consultancy services focussed specifically inChina and India only, with a view to exploring the potential synergies betweenboth these markets. As a result, the Directors believe Origo stands out fromother financial service and merchant banking operations with its China-Indiafocus and current and proposed cross-border management setup, infrastructure andnetwork. With a management team that has many years of operating and investmentexperience in China and India, the Group has developed strategic relationshipswithin the investment and entrepreneurial communities in both these countries,as demonstrated by the Company's alliances with SBICAP and ChinaEquity. As an operating company, Origo also proposes to differentiate itself fromtraditional venture capital funds investing in China and India. Through itsstrategic consultancy work, the Origo management team intend to source deals andgain more in-depth insights into potential investment opportunities prior tocommitting capital. Its consultancy services will be designed to assistcompanies in their growth initiatives by providing valued added fee-basedservices and access to infrastructure which the Directors believe will fuelgrowth and improve the image and brand of such companies and their respectivebusiness performances. It is the experience of the Directors that suchassistance is much needed, particularly in emerging economies such as China andIndia. Market Dynamics - China In the opinion of Origo, China's favourable demographics and macro-economicconditions offer an attractive private equity environment translating intoinvestment potential in both existing and prospective portfolio companies, aswell as growing M&A and IPO climate in which Origo may offer its strategicconsultancy services. Key Features of the Chinese market are: • GDP of US$2.2 trillion in 2005; • 9.9 per cent GDP growth in 2005; • 10.4 per cent forecast GDP growth in 2006; • Attracted US$72.4 billion of Foreign Direct Investment in 2005, third only to the UK and US globally; • Regarded as the pre-eminent global manufacturing base; and • Booming internet and wireless related industries that have made billion dollar market debuts on Nasdaq. Sources: World Bank, OECD Market Dynamics - India Although China's economy has developed faster than India's in terms ofinfrastructure and manufacturing, India has recognised knowledge basedindustries, vast natural resources and well-developed mainstream industries. Asper capita income grows rapidly and fuels domestic consumption, and exportscontinue to increase, the India economy is expected to sustain high levels ofgrowth in the years ahead. The Directors believe that, against this rapidlygrowing economic backdrop and the subsequent need for expansion capital ratherthan seed capital, this should provide both the opportunity for high rates ofreturn on unquoted investments in India and significant consultancy fees ascompanies seek to move from private to public market status. Key Features of the Indian market are: • GDP of US$3.611 trillion in 2005; • 6.9 per cent GDP growth in 2005; • 7.9 per cent forecast GDP growth in 2006; • Attracted US$6.6 billion of Foreign Direct Investment in 2005; • The service sector is the major source of economic growth , accounting for approximately half of India's output from less than one quarter of is workforce; and • India has a large number of highly skilled and well educated workers in the software sector, enabling India to become a major exporter of software services. Sources: World Bank, OECD This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
OPP.L