12 Oct 2010 07:00
NOT FOR RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION,DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, IN OR INTO THE UNITED STATES, AUSTRALIA, CANADA OR JAPAN
| Press Release | 12 October 2010 |
Caparo Energy Limited
("Caparo Energy" or the "Company")
First Day Dealings
The board of directors of Caparo Energy, a Guernseycompany that is the holding company for subsidiaries (together, the "Group") thatseek to generate wind power in India, is pleased to announce its admission to theAIM market of the London Stock Exchange ("Admission") and the commencement of dealingsin its ordinary shares under ticker symbol CEL.
The Company has raised £50.2 million in a placingof 43,636,000 new Ordinary Shares (the "Placing"), representing 26.7 per cent.of the enlarged ordinary share capital of the Company. The approximate market capitalisationof the Company following Admission is £188.2 million.
Strand Hanson Limited is acting as nominated adviserin relation to the Admission and Mirabaud Securities LLP is acting as broker.
Overview
Caparo Energy is focused on becoming one of theleading independent power producers in India and is seeking to generate predictableand long-term cash flows by building up a portfolio of wind power generating assetsin the Indian wind energy market. The Group intends, in due course, to acquire anddevelop a portfolio of wind farms with a target total annual installed capacity ofup to 5,000 MW, which it intends to develop in two concurrent phases: Phase I consistingof 3,000 MW with a target completion date of 2016; and Phase II consisting of 2,000MW with a target completion date of 2017.
For Phase I, the Company, through its subsidiaryCaparo Energy (India) Limited ("Caparo Energy India"), has entered into a businesspartnership agreement with Suzlon Energy Limited ("Suzlon"), one of the world'sleading wind turbine generator manufacturers, to acquire up to 3,000 MW of wind powergeneration farms.
For Phase II, Caparo Energy India is in advanceddiscussions to acquire land and turbines from international vendors in connectionwith wind power farm development in wind-rich states in India, including Karnataka,Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh.
The Company believes this should provide bothgeographic and customer-base diversification to the Group's portfolio and that thesesites will, if and when acquired, be suitable for installing an additional 2,000MW of capacity by 2017.
Key investment opportunity
The Company believes the following Group attributesand factors will be attractive to potential investors:
· the Governmentof India is seeking to double the country's installed power capacity to 342 GW andmore than treble its clean energy capacity to 54 GW by 2017;
· the Group plansto accumulate a substantial portfolio of wind power generating assets in India'srelatively well established, but fragmented wind energy market (i.e., not disproportionatelydominated by other producers), which should have considerable growth prospects inthe near and medium term;
· Caparo EnergyIndia has an agreement in place with Suzlon, one of the leading global wind turbinegenerator manufacturers, and the largest in India, for up to 3,000 MW of operatingcapacity and grid connected wind farms;
· the Company believesthat ongoing negotiations with infrastructure companies and wind turbine manufacturersshould enable the Group to acquire and develop suitable sites for up to 2,000 MWof operating capacity and grid connected Phase II wind power generation farms by2017; and
· the Company hasarranged debt financing which, together with the proceeds from the Placing, shouldenable the roll-out of initial projects.
Ravi Kailas, the Company's Chief Executive Officer,said:
"We are delighted that the AIM flotation of theCompany has been completed successfully and we now look forward to working with ournew institutional shareholders.
"The widening energy supply gap in India presentsthe Company with an extremely exciting opportunity. Through our business partnershipagreement with Suzlon, India's largest and only fully-integrated wind turbine producer,we plan to accumulate a substantial portfolio of wind power generating assets. WhileIndia's renewable energy market is relatively established, it also has considerablegrowth prospects in the near to medium term, as the government creates incentivesfor private operators to help fill the country's energy gap. Caparo Energy looksforward to capitalising on this urgent market need, and unlocking continued economicand social development in one of the world's most significant markets, with a viewto becoming one of India's leading energy businesses and a premierowner and operator of wind farms across the country."
Further information on the Company can be foundat www.caparoenergy.com.
- Ends -
For further information please contact:
| Caparo Energy Limited |
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| Ravi Kailas, Chief Executive Officer | +44 (0) 20 7398 7702 |
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| Strand Hanson Limited |
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| Angela Peace / Paul Cocker / James Harris | +44 (0) 20 7409 3494 |
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| Mirabaud Securities LLP |
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| Peter Krens / Rory Scott | +44 (0) 20 7878 3360 |
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| Abchurch Communications |
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| Henry Harrison-Topham | +44 (0) 20 7398 7702 |
| Heather Salmond | +44 (0) 20 7398 7704 |
| henry.ht@abchurch-group.com | www.abchurch-group.com |
NOTE TO EDITORS:
Executive Directors
Ravi Kailas,Chief ExecutiveOfficer, age 44
Mr. Kailas has 20 years of entrepreneurial experiencein telecoms, software and real estate. He was the founder of a number of start-upcompanies, including Zip Global Network, a telecom services company, which was subsequentlysold to Tata Teleservices; Xius Technologies, a telecom software company which launchedthe world's first inter-operator prepaid roaming service and which was merged witha leading SEI CMM Level 4 software company; and Altius, a real estate investmentcompany which was later sold to The Chatterjee Group. He has a Bachelors degree inElectronics and Communications Engineering from Osmania University and a Mastersdegree from The Graduate School of Business, Stanford University.
Vikram Kailas,Chief FinancialOfficer, age 30
Before joining the Group, Mr. Kailas worked inthe power and utilities investment banking group at Credit Suisse in New York, wherehe was involved in a number of renewable energy transactions, including a US$6 billionexit financing for Calpine, a US$300 million loan for First Energy, a US$1 billioncapital raise for First Solar and the sale of Airtricity's US operations to E.Onand the European assets to Scottish & Southern Energy. Prior to joining Credit Suisse,Mr. Kailas worked for Deloitte Consulting in Hyderabad, India. He has a B.Tech inMechanical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras, and an
MBA from the Yale School of Management. He isa nephew of Ravi Kailas.
Alastair Cade,Director, age 38
Mr. Cade was one of the founders of Daniel StewartSecurities plc, a London based institutional stock broking and corporate financefirm and was appointed Managing Director in 2003. Subsequently, Mr. Cade set up aprivate investment vehicle concentrating on agriculture and renewable energy. Hehas a Masters degree in Economics from St. Andrews University.
Non-Executive Directors
Hon. Angad Paul,Non-ExecutiveChairman, age 40
Mr. Paul is the Chief Executive of the CaparoGroup and has overseen the acquisition by the Caparo Group of a number of companiessince 2007 and the Caparo Group's entry into Dubai and China. Mr. Paul attendedthe Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Boston, USA, where he received BAs inEconomics and Media Arts and Sciences.
Rohit KumarPhansalkar, Non-ExecutiveDirector, age 65
Mr. Phansalkar is the Chairman and CEO of RKPCapital, Inc., a US based merchant banking boutique. He was previously the Chairmanand CEO of Osicom Technologies, an optical networking company. He was the co-founder,Vice Chairman and CEO of Newbridge Capital, a private equity firm investing in India,and formerly the Head of Energy Finance Group at Oppenheimer & Co. Mr. Phansalkarwas co-head of the Energy Finance Group at Shearson American Express, Managing Directorof Bear Stearns and Managing Director at Oppenheimer & Co. Mr. Phansalkar was theFounding Chairman of The India Fund. Mr. Phansalkar received an MBA from the HarvardGraduate School of Business.
Charles Wilkinson,Non-ExecutiveDirector, age 67
Mr. Wilkinson is a solicitor who retired fromLawrence Graham LLP in March 2005. While at Lawrence Graham, he specialised in corporatefinance and commercial law, latterly concentrating on investment trust and fund work.He is currently chairman of both Asset Management Investment Company PLC, an investmenttrust, and Premier Renewable Energy Fund Limited, a listed investment company, andis a director of Landore Resources Ltd, a Guernsey based mining exploration company.
Philip Swatman,Non-ExecutiveDirector, age 60
Mr. Swatman was appointed Chairman of Merlin CorporateReputation Management, a public relations advisory firm based in London, in March2009, where he focuses particularly on matters of business development. Prior tothis, Mr. Swatman was Vice-Chairman of Investment Banking at NM Rothschild from 2001until his retirement in September 2008, having originally joined NM Rothschild in1979 as a corporate financier, becoming a Director in 1986. He subsequently becamea Managing Director and later Co-Head of Investment Banking. Mr. Swatman qualifiedas a Chartered Accountant with KPMG after graduating from Christ Church, Oxford andis a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants. Mr. Swatman is a nonexecutivedirector at New England Seafood International Limited and Investec Structured ProductsCalculus VCT PLC.