18th Dec 2006 07:01
Clean Energy Brazil PLC18 December 2006 Clean Energy Brazil Plc ("CEB" or "the Company") Clean Energy Brazil admitted to AIM Clean Energy Brazil plc, an investment company with a mandate to invest directlyinto Brazil's sugar and ethanol industry, is pleased to announce its admissionto trading on the AIM Market of the London Stock Exchange (which is expected tooccur at 8am today). Numis Securities conceived and developed the CEB concept, built the managementteam, and has backed the company alongside institutional investors. Numis isalso a major shareholder in Temple Capital Partners, which will manage CEB'sfunds. Admission Statistics Placing Price per Ordinary Share £1 Number of Ordinary Shares in issue on Admission 100 million Gross proceeds of the Placing £100 million Market capitalisation at the Placing Price £100 million Warrants which are also expected to commence trading on AIM at 8am today havebeen issued on the basis of 1 warrant for 4 ordinary shares. Placees will alsoreceive shares in Temple Capital Partners Limited. Overview • An AIM listed investment company, designed to take advantage of thegrowth potential and the consolidation opportunities in Brazil's sugar andbioethanol industry • CEB has agreed an initial investment of $137m into a fully integratedexisting sugar/ethanol asset with associated greenfield projects, full duediligence has been performed and the investment agreement has been finalised • CEB is seeking to pay a 5p dividend in respect of the period to 30September 2007, and is targeting an aggregate IRR of 25% on capital invested • CEB's Non-Executive Chairman is Antonio Monteiro de Castro, the currentchief operating officer of British American Tobacco plc Strategy CEB proposes to invest in both existing sugar and bioethanol production unitsand in new greenfield projects. Investing in new projects will capture theinherent development premium, whereas acquiring equity in existing assets willcapture immediate cash flows. The target assets comprise agricultural sugar cane plantations, industrialmilling facilities, sugar and ethanol production facilities, and associatedexport logistics infrastructure. There is significant scale in the sugar cane industry in Brazil; the currenttotal land dedicated to sugar cane production is approximately 6 millionhectares. However, consolidation in the sector is very rare, most ethanol/sugarproduction facilities still remaining family owned and run businesses. Investment Adviser - Temple Capital Partners Two leading industry advisors have been brought together by Numis to form one ofthe largest teams of professionals working in the sugar/ethanol sector inBrazil. • Czarnikow Sugar: one of the largest physical brokers of sugar in theworld, Czarnikow Sugar dates back to 1861 and is today represented in 11countries, employing some 130 professionals. Czarnikow Sugar provides mergersand acquisition advice, trading, hedging, shipping, consultancy and riskmanagement services. Its key clients include large international corporations,sugar millers, refiners, and traders around the world. • Agrop: a leading sugar cane agronomy outsourcing company in Brazil,Agrop provides agronomy and agricultural/industrial services for some of thelargest sugar mills in Brazil. The Chief Executive Officer and joint ownerMarcelo Junqueira is a landowner, farmer and shareholder in one of the largestsugar mill companies in Brazil. The Junqueira family is one of the most wellknown and respected "sugar families" in Brazil. Rationale: Ethanol/Sugar/Brazil • Brazil is the world's largest sugar producer and exporter and is thelowest cost producer of raw sugar in the world. • As a result of the reform of the European sugar regime the directorsbelieve there will be a sharp decline in EU sugar production and exports,thereby reducing world sugar supply, and hence benefiting Brazil. • Overall demand for Brazilian bioethanol is expected to rise due to therecent introduction of flex-fuel cars - cars which can run on any mixof gasoline or ethanol. • The directors of the Company believe that the global bioethanol marketis in its infancy, and that high energy prices, environmental concerns andpolitical pressures will continue to support expansion in the use anddevelopment of biofuels. Peter Thompson, Chairman of Temple Capital Partners Limited, and Director ofCzarnikow Sugar commented, "Clean Energy Brazil gives a London equity window on the world leading Braziliansugar and ethanol industry. Both the industry and Clean Energy Brazil are facingenormous growth in demand for their products; they will benefit from the growingawareness that cars fuelled by ethanol from sugar cane can be part of thesolution to global warming. To maximise the return to investors we have raised only the money that webelieve we can immediately invest. CEB is seeking to become a major participantin the Brazilian sector, and has numerous projects under consideration." Oliver Hemsley, Chief Executive of Numis commented, "We continue to set Numis apart as an innovative investment banking business. The Numis team conceived and developed the concept of Clean Energy Brazil andhas built the management team. As partners with Czarnikow Sugar and Agrop we look forward to building a company of scale in this growing market." Marcelo Junqueira, Founder and CEO of Agrop, and Non-Executive Director of CleanEnergy Brazil commented, "The sugar cane industry in Brazil is the major player in the internationalsugar market, and the world leader in ethanol production. Understanding Brazil'ssugar and ethanol sector at a local, hands-on level is absolutely fundamental tothe success of CEB, and I believe investors have recognised the quality anddepth of the team we have assembled." 18 December 2006 Enquiries: NumisAndrew Dawber - Managing Director, Corporate Finance 020 7776 1500Tom Frost - Associate Director, Corporate Finance Smith and Williamson Corporate FinanceAzhic Basirov - Director 020 7131 4000David Jones - Director College HillPeter Pantlin - Director 020 7457 2020Paddy Blewer Biographies of key personnel Antonio Monteiro de Castro - Non-Executive Chairman of CEBAntonio is the chief operating officer of British American Tobacco plc, aconstituent of the FTSE 100 index. In addition, Antonio is non-executivechairman of the Souza Cruz S.A. Administrative Council (one of Brazil's leadingcompanies), and a director of Fundacao Getulio Vargas, Brazil's foremosteducation and research foundation. Antonio has an MBA from Babson College in theUS. Peter Thompson - Chairman of Temple Capital Partners, Director of CzarnikowPeter has 20 years' experience of working in the sugar industry, the last 10years as a director for Czarnikow. Based in London, Peter typically spends oneweek a month in Brazil and is responsible for Czarnikow's Brazilian activities.He is a fluent Portuguese speaker, and will lead the Temple team in providingadvice to CEB. Marcelo Junqueira - Founder and CEO, AgropMarcelo is the CEO of Agrop. He has spent his entire life in the sugar andethanol industry in Brazil, and he is a member of one of the most influentialsugar families in Brazil. Numis SecuritiesNumis' New Energy and Emissions sector team is dedicated to developing andpresenting investment opportunities across the renewable energy and emissionsreduction spectrum. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
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