TIDMCORO
RNS Number : 8487D
Coro Energy PLC
02 November 2020
This announcement contains inside information
2 November 2020
Coro Energy plc
("Coro" or the "Company")
Acquisition of interest in ion Ventures Holdings Ltd
Coro Energy plc, the South East Asian energy company focused on
supporting the regional transition to a low carbon economy, is
delighted to announce its maiden clean energy investment.
The Company has acquired a 20.3% shareholding in ion Ventures
Holdings Limited ("ion Ventures" or "ion"), a South East Asian and
UK focused developer of clean energy projects, including renewables
and battery storage for cash consideration of GBP500,000.
Alongside this initial investment, the Company has been granted
a priority right of first refusal ("ROFR") to invest in each of ion
Venture's South East Asian projects prior to financial close. Coro
joins the ion founders as joint largest shareholder of ion
Ventures, and will benefit from shareholder rights which are set
out in an industry standard shareholder agreement, including the
right for a Coro representative to sit on the ion Ventures board of
directors.
Acquisition Rationale:
-- Provides Coro with immediate access to the existing ion
Ventures pipeline of approximately 20 high quality clean energy
projects across South East Asia, alongside a UK project pipeline.
The more mature projects include construction ready projects which
are expected to be capable of becoming cash generative within 12
months and Coro will have optionality as to future investment in
specific ion Ventures projects via the ROFR.
-- Provides Coro with direct access to, and alignment with, a
team of regional experts with a depth of knowledge in the clean
energy space.
In September 2020, Coro announced a revised South East Asian
strategy to include a specific focus on renewable energy assets and
related technologies, including battery storage. South East Asia,
despite including some of the fastest growing economies globally,
is still largely dependent on coal and requires a significant
investment in renewable energy generation and energy storage
capacity to continue the transition to a low carbon economy,
including the associated electrification of transport, residential
homes and industry.
ion Ventures is a UK incorporated, privately owned clean energy
developer, with a strong pipeline of potential projects in South
East Asia (principally Thailand, the Philippines and Indonesia),
along with a large shovel-ready pipeline in the UK and multiple
near term value inflection points. ion Ventures has a strong
presence in South East Asia with a regional headquarters in
Singapore and established strategic partnerships with utilities and
Independent Power Producers ("IPPs") across the region. The funds
injected by Coro will be used by ion to develop its core projects
and for general working capital purposes.
For the financial period ended 31 October 2019, the last period
for which ion Ventures has published annual financial statements,
pre-revenue ion incurred a net loss after tax of GBP3,000 and had
total assets of GBP451,000.
James Parsons, Chairman, commented:
"We are delighted to have hit the ground running with this
transaction, which significantly accelerates our evolution into a
regional low carbon energy company. The transaction delivers a
pre-populated funnel of already high graded investment
opportunities in our target region, access to an aligned team of
regional experts and multiple near term value inflection points. We
look forward to updating shareholders, as appropriate, over the
coming months."
Dan Taylor, Co-Founder of ion Ventures commented:
"This investment from Coro Energy plc comes at a pivotal moment
for ion Ventures as we further mature our pipeline of energy
storage projects in South East Asia and the UK. We have a strong
track record for delivering energy storage solutions that provide
the grid stability required to smooth the transition to renewable
energy and strategically, we are aligned with Coro in seeing the
potential of South East Asian energy markets."
Further details on ion Ventures Holdings Limited
ion Ventures was established in 2018 to exploit opportunities
that arise from the increasing complexity of energy systems, the
shift to distributed generation and more localised networks and the
need for flexible and responsive solutions. ion Ventures
specialises in utilising appropriate technology, combined with
commercial expertise, to identify and deliver solutions that meet
these challenges. ion's two founders collectively have more than 25
years' experience in the clean energy industry and have a proven
track record financing and developing clean energy projects,
including energy storage.
The continuing growth of energy demand in the South East Asian
region offers huge scope to deploy distributed energy solutions
that meet this demand. The shift to utilising solar PV and wind is
well underway; however there remains a considerable dependency on
fossil fuel power generation, meaning the need for hybrid solutions
alongside standalone renewable energy projects is clear.
With many remote and off-grid regions, alongside thousands of
islands, hybrid solutions represent a logical and commercially
viable approach to meet demand. With a wide knowledge of one of the
most developed markets in the world, the UK and Europe, ion
Ventures is ideally placed to leverage this expertise to accelerate
the successful adoption of renewable energy and flexibility
services to meet the region's growth in demand. ion Ventures
envisages successfully developing many MWs of projects by deploying
their considerable know how in renewable energy, energy storage and
hybrid generation and network optimisation.
ion Ventures' business model is to originate and develop energy
storage projects, maturing individual projects through the
pre-development phase to financial close. As projects complete
construction, ion Ventures will benefit from project yield on its
retained interests and management fees from its continuing
involvement as project manager and operator of the assets.
An estimated 50 GW of new storage is required in South East Asia
to support growth in energy demand and increasing renewables
investment, with the region set to be the epicentre of global
battery technology manufacturing. Aided by its key strategic
relationships with utilities and IPPs, the company has a strong
pipeline of projects across South East Asia in excess of 50 MW in
Thailand, the Philippines, and Indonesia. In the UK, the company
has three projects totalling 115 MW which are shovel-ready.
Further details regarding ion Ventures can be found at their
website: www.ion.ventures
Coro Energy and ion Ventures look forward to presenting the
strategic rationale for the transaction, with a video presentation
now available on the Coro website: www.coroenergyplc.com
Coro Energy plc Via Vigo Communications
James Parsons Ltd
Cenkos Securities plc (Nominated Adviser) Tel: 44 (0)20 7397 8900
Ben Jeynes
Katy Birkin
Vigo Communications Ltd (IR/PR Advisor) Tel: 44 (0)20 7390 0230
Patrick d'Ancona
Chris McMahon
Mirabaud Securities Ltd (Broker) Tel: 44 (0)20 3167 7221
Peter Krens
Ed Haig-Thomas
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