10 Nov 2008 07:00
10 November 2008
Leaf completes a $50 million commitment to
Vital Renewable Energy Company
Leaf Clean Energy Company ("Leaf") [LSE: LEAF.L], an AIM listed company incorporated for the purpose of investing in clean energy companies and projects, is pleased to announce the completion of a US$50 million Series B preferred stock financing in Vital Renewable Energy Company ("VREC").
VREC is a renewable energy company that will develop sugar cane based ethanol facilities with integrated electricity cogeneration in Brazil. VREC plans to construct and operate greenfield sugar cane to ethanol facilities with already developed agricultural plans, as well as expand existing ethanol facilities, and make opportunistic investments in distressed ethanol facilities.
Leaf expects that the highly competitive cost environment in Brazil will enable VREC to produce ethanol in a cost-efficient manner relative to ethanol production costs in other countries. VREC has furthered partnered with Grupo Farias, a substantial Brazilian ethanol producer, to identify and capitalize on these strategic opportunities and capture a significant share in this market. Grupo Farias is a leading sugarcane processing group with 10.6 million tonnes of installed sugarcane crushing capacity, 40 years of operating history, a strong capital base, and a world-class executive team. Given the current and expected future strong demand for ethanol both locally and outside of Brazil, as well as VREC's and its operational partner's experience managing ethanol production and sales, Leaf expects VREC to generate strong earnings from ethanol production and associated green power sales.
Peter Tom, Chairman of Leaf, said:
"Leaf is looking forward to working with VREC and Grupo Farias. This combination creates a company that is well positioned in the Brazilian renewable energy market, which is poised for tremendous growth."
Simon Shaw, Director of Energy & Climate Advisors, said:
"Global environmental concerns, coupled with high oil prices and supply risks, are raising worldwide awareness of the need to adopt clean, renewable fuel sources, such as sugar cane based ethanol.
VREC is well positioned in this context to benefit both from Brazil's high internal demand for ethanol and growth in worldwide demand."
Dan Shapiro, Director of Energy & Climate Advisors, said:
"The strength of the management teams and core capabilities demonstrated to date by both VREC and Grupo Farias provide a unique platform for success in the renewable energy space in the growing market of Brazil. This differentiated investment in sugar-based ethanol development and production further diversifies Leaf's portfolio, which now includes concentrated solar, thin film solar, waste to energy, biomass electricity, run-of-river hydroelectric, cellulosic ethanol and biodiesel technology."
Ricardo Roccia, CEO of VREC, said:
"VREC is extremely pleased to have a company the calibre of Leaf Clean Energy as part of its pool of strategic investors. As a result of extensive industry analysis and review of several agricultural-industrial projects, the VREC team selected a portfolio of initial investments focused on ethanol production and associated energy generation capable of delivering the returns expected by our investors."
- Ends -
For further information please contact:
Simon Shaw
Director, Energy & Climate Advisors +44 (0) 20 7553 2361
Daniel Shapiro
Director, Energy & Climate Advisors +1 225 987 7408
Ivonne Cantu / Oliver Goad
Cenkos Securities plc +44 (0) 20 7397 8900
Martin Stott / Ian Beestin +44 (0)7947 915028
Bulletin PR
Notes to Editors:
About Leaf Clean Energy Company
Leaf Clean Energy Company ("Leaf") [LSE: LEAF.L], is a publicly traded clean energy investment company on AIM. Leaf was incorporated for the purpose of acquiring interests in, owning, operating and managing clean energy companies and projects primarily in North America. The sector spans multiple industries, including wind energy, solar energy, energy efficiency, pollution control, emission credit aggregation, waste-to-energy, wave energy, biomass power and biofuels. The company's main investment objective is to achieve long term capital appreciation through its acquired interests in the clean energy sector, as well as through the potential generation and commercialization of carbon credits derived from these projects. Leaf is advised by Energy & Climate Advisors, a joint venture between EEA Group and Shaw Capital.
www.leafcleanenergy.com
www.eeafm.com
www.shawgrp.com/markets/shawcapital