Issue of Equity to Fund WoodFibre Growth Strategy

RNS Number : 0966G

Active Energy Group PLC

03 August 2016

 

Active Energy Group Plc / EPIC: AEG / Sector: Alternative Energy

03 August 2016

Active Energy Group Plc ('Active Energy' or 'the Group')

£2.05 million Placing to Support AEG WoodFibre Expansion Strategy

Active Energy, the AIM quoted international vertically-integrated renewable energy, forestry management and timber processing business, is pleased to announce that it has raised £2,050,000 (gross) through the issue of 77,358,491 new ordinary shares of 1p each ("Ordinary Shares") at a price of 2.65p per share (the "Placing Shares") to new and existing shareholders (the "Placing"). The net proceeds of the Placing will be used to increase capacity by approximately 33% at its woodchip processing operations in Ukraine, and will also provide the Company with additional working capital.

The Placing was undertaken by the Company's broker Northland Capital Partners and the Placing price of 2.65p represents a 16.5% discount to the Company's closing price on 2 August 2016.

Highlights

·    Funds raised will be primarily allocated to developing AEG WoodFibre, one of Active Energy's three standalone but highly complementary divisions (AEG WoodFibre, AEG TimberLands and AEG CoalSwitch)

·    Short term capex-related projects for AEG WoodFibre at the Yuzhny Port in Ukraine include:

o the implementation of a new softwood line, including a de-barker and stationary chipper, which should increase production capacity by circa 33% to approximately 4,000 tonnes of raw material a day; and

o the acquisition of mobile chippers and log handling equipment onsite

Details of the Placing and Total Voting Rights

The Placing Shares will rank pari passu with the existing Ordinary Shares and application has been made to the London Stock Exchange for admission of the Placing Shares to trading on AIM ("Admission").  The Placing is conditional, inter alia, on Admission, and dealings are expected to commence at 8.00am on 8 August 2016.

As a result of the issue of the Placing Shares, the percentage holding of certain significant shareholders will change.  The revised holdings of these shareholders following Admission are presented in the table below:

	Ordinary Shares held immediately following Admission	Percentage of Ordinary Shares of 1p held immediately following Admission with voting rights
Gravendonck Private Foundation	169,500,000	25.7%
Ruffer LLP	76,491,002	11.6%
Windstar Investment SA	63,360,000	9.6%

Following the Admission of the Placing Shares, the Company's enlarged issued share capital will comprise 721,658,721 Ordinary Shares with voting rights. The Company holds 62,500,000 Ordinary Shares in Treasury and the figure of 659,158,721 Ordinary Shares may therefore be used by shareholders in the Company as the denominator for the calculations by which they will determine if they are required to notify their interest in, or a change in their interest in, the share capital of the Company under the FCA's Disclosure and Transparency Rules.

Active Energy CEO, Richard Spinks said, "Having raised gross proceeds of £2.05 million, we will continue with our strategy to enhance shareholder value by implementing our expansion plans, which will focus on increasing revenues and building on our current operations in Ukraine. Specifically, we plan to complement the fully-automated hardwood production line, which is already capable of processing approximately 3,000 tonnes of raw material per day, with the installation of a new 1,000 tonne per day softwood production line by the end of 2016.  

We are delighted to have received such a positive response to this Placing. I would like to thank our long-standing shareholders who participated in the Placing for their continued support; in addition we welcome several new shareholders to AEG.  I look forward to providing all our shareholders with further updates regarding our progress with AEG WoodFibre in the coming months, in addition to updates from the Company's other divisions; AEG TimberLands and AEG CoalSwitch."  

This announcement contains inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of Regulation (EU) 596/2014.

**ENDS**

Enquiries & Further Information:

Website	LinkedIn	Twitter
www.active-energy.com	www.linkedin.com/company/activeenergy	www.twitter.com/aegplc (@aegplc)

Enquiries
Active Energy Group Plc	Richard Spinks Chief Executive Officer	[e-mail] Int: [phone]
	Brian Evans-Jones Chief Financial Officer	[e-mail] UK: [phone] Ukraine: [phone]
Northland Capital Partners Limited Nominated Adviser & Broker	Patrick Claridge/David Hignell/Gerry Beaney (Corporate Finance) John Howes/Rob Rees (Sales and Broking)	Office: [phone]
St Brides Partners Financial PR Adviser	Susie Geliher/Frank Buhagiar/Megan Dennison	[e-mail] Office: [phone]

About Active Energy Group:

Active Energy Group Plc ("Active Energy" or "AEG") is an AIM quoted company operating internationally across the entire timber supply chain - from forest to factory and fuel.

Active Energy's vertically-integrated business units provide timberland development services for forestry owners, industrial wood fibre for MDF manufacturers, and second-generation Biomass coal replacement fuels for industrial power generators.

Active Energy has three divisions:

·     AEG TimberLands: Forestry Asset Management and Development

·     AEG WoodFibre: Industrial Wood Fibre for Medium-Density Fibreboard (MDF) Manufacturing

·     AEG CoalSwitch: Advanced Biomass Coal Replacement Fuels and Fuel Processing Systems

Active Energy's relationships with forestry owners through its AEG TimberLands operation allows the Company to maximise the value of its standing timber assets, converting low-grade material - primarily non-saw logs/technical lumber and forestry thinnings - into industrial wood fibre for MDF manufacturing via Active Energy's AEG WoodFibre division.  This vertically integrated model also provides feedstock for the Company's AEG CoalSwitch joint venture, which generates green energy power generation from Biomass. 

 

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