HYR.L Regulatory News (HYR)

5 Nov 2007 12:43

HydroDec Group plc05 November 2007 5 November 2007 HYDRODEC GROUP PLC RESULT OF EGM AND COMPLETION OF £13.8 MILLION UNSECURED CONVERTIBLE LOAN NOTES TO FUND USA EXPANSION Hydrodec Group plc ("Hydrodec" or "the Company") announces that at anExtraordinary General Meeting of the Company held earlier today, the proposedresolutions to increase the Company's authority to allot equity securities andto disapply pre-emption rights in respect of certain allotments, including thePlacing (as defined below), as set out in the circular published on 10 October2007, were duly passed. The Company also announces that following the satisfaction of all the conditionsrelating to the placing ("the Placing") of £13.8 million of Fixed Rate UnsecuredConvertible Loan Notes (the "Loan Notes"), the Placing has now been completed. The funds from the Placing will be used to complete construction of Hydrodec'sfirst American Superfine transformer oil production plant in Canton, Ohio and tofinance the whole of the construction of Hydrodec's second plant in Laurel,Mississippi. Total capital expenditure for the Ohio plant is expected to be US$12 millionwith a further US$3m allowed for pre-operating expenses and corporate costs inthe US. The plant will have a planned capacity of approximately 90,000 litresper day but an assumed annual operating output of around 27m litres and isexpected to be fully operational by June 2008. Construction of the second plant at Laurel, Mississippi is planned to commencein early 2008 and to be commissioned in the first half of 2009. The decision toaccelerate development of its second US plant reflects the very strong interestbeing generated by Hydrodec's US marketing program. The Company's progress inthe USA reflects the now widespread acceptance of its Superfine transformer oilproduct in Australia. The Placing is for £13.8 million of Loan Notes. The Loan Notes will payinterest semi-annually in arrears at a rate of 8% p.a. with the first paymentcovering the period from the issue of the Loan Notes to 31st December 2007. TheLoan Notes, which will not be listed, are in aggregate convertible intoapproximately 72.63 million new Ordinary Shares of the Company. This represents27.3% of the Company's enlarged issued share capital, assuming that all the LoanNotes are converted into Ordinary Shares. The Company will have the right toredeem all outstanding Notes at any time from 1st November 2012 to 31st October2014, by which date they must be redeemed. At the time of the announcement of the Placing on 9th October 2007, John Gunn,Chairman, commented, "I am delighted that the Company's US expansion is nowfully funded. The development of the two plants in the US will give the Companyadditional market presence and should enable it to develop a profitablebusiness. Equally importantly, this will provide the platform for furtherexpansion of the Company's technology into other markets. In light of the stronginterest we are seeing in the US for the Company's renewable oil solution, Ilook forward over coming months to being able to announce progress on thedevelopment of key supplier and customer relationships as our productioncapability becomes a reality". For further information please contact: John Gunn, ChairmanHydrodec Group plcTel: 0207 621 5770 Emma DavisCurve PRTel: 07764 197 003 Notes to Editors Hydrodec's technology is a patented sustainable oil refining process that takesexisting spent oil as feedstock to produce new specialty oils thus creating avirtuous "green" cycle. The process is closed loop and produces no harmfulemissions. It can indefinitely return "as good as new" oil ("Superfine") toutilities and transformer manufacturers (who supply the utilities) and at thesame time removes their lifetime stewardship liabilities for these harmfulsubstances. Hydrodec's first commercial process re-refines the used transformeroils that insulate and cool utility transformer boxes. It currently has oneoperating plant in Young, New South Wales in Australia. For further information please go to hydrodec.com This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange