BY IPE STAFF 19 OCTOBER 2020

SDCL Energy Efficiency Income Trust is buying Swedish regulated gas distribution network company Värtan Gas Stockholm for £100m (€109m).

The UK-listed investment firm said the acquisition will be funded from existing cash reserves and debt facilities, which include the capital raised in the recent equity fundraising and a £30m short term acquisition facility that has been added to SDCL’s current £40m revolving credit facility.

Värtan Gas owns and operates Stockholm’s regulated gas grid, the majority of which is sourced from locally produced biogas. The group supplies and distributes to over 58,000 residential, commercial, industrial, transportation and real estate customers in Stockholm.

Jonathan Maxwell, CEO and founder of SDCL’s investment manager Sustainable Development Capital, said: “SDCL is making an investment in an important infrastructure asset for the City of Stockholm. It provides an attractive opportunity for SDCL to invest in an established energy network that helps with greenhouse gas emission reductions and for SEEIT to help make it greener.

“The operational investment offers the opportunity for an attractive level of income and for significant growth over the medium to long term. We are pleased to agree this investment immediately following our successful fund-raising.”

By Sam Kerr 19 Oct 2020

SDCL Energy Efficiency Income Trust (SEEIT), the UK listed energy efficiency investor, is buying Swedish regulated gas distribution network Värtan Gas Stockholm, with the acquisitive firm already completing an increased £105m equity sale and small debt raise to part finance the purchase.

Last week SEEIT set out to raise £80m for the acquisition of “an established, operational and regulated energy network in a major Western European city”.

The acquisition turned out to be Värtan Gas Stockholm.

The Swedish firm owns and operates Stockholm’s regulated gas grid, around 70% of which is sourced from locally produced biogas, and supplies and distributes to over 58,000 customers in Stockholm.

The capital raise was opened on Tuesday, October 13, and closed on Friday, October 16. Jefferies was sole global coordinator in the deal.

The company was inundated with investor interest over the three days of bookbuild and as such decided to grow the offering to £105m.

The decision to grow the offering is the latest sign of huge investor demand for any EMC transaction with an M&A angle.

“There are a lot of capital raises left to come, and while rescue rights issues are a big part of the pipeline, anything with a growth or acquisition angle is still proving to be very popular among shareholders,” said a senior ECM syndicate banker.

The new shares were sold at a fixed price of £1.05 a share a 5.4% discount to SEEIT’s closing price on October 12 but a 4% premium to its net asset value.

Not only was the deal popular because of the use of proceeds, the offering was also attractive for yield hunting investors.

SEEIT is targeting a dividend target of 5.5p per share for the financial year ending March 31, 2021, which represents a dividend yield of 5.2% for investors who took part in the capital raise.

Companies that still aim to pay out a regular dividend have been hugely popular in equity capital markets this year because of the huge number of FTSE companies that have either suspended or delayed dividend payments to shareholders.

The VGS deal will be funded from existing cash reserves and debt facilities, which include the capital raised in last week’s equity fundraising as well as a £30m short term acquisition facility that has been added to SEEIT’s current £40m revolving credit facility.

VGS’s existing project debt finance facilities, which are equivalent to around £26m, will remain in place.

“We are grateful for the strong support we have received from both new and existing investors. Given the strength of investor demand and the progress we have made with our near-term acquisition pipeline, we have increased the amount raised to £105m from £80m,” said Tony Roper, chairman of SDCL Energy Efficiency  Income Trust last week

• Placing: SDCL Energy Efficiency Income is seeking to raise £80m through the issue of 76.2m new ordinary shares at 105.0p. The issue price represents a 5.4% discount to last night’s closing price of 111p and an 8.1% premium to the 31 March NAV, after adjusting for two interim dividends totalling 3.8p paid since March. The proceeds will be used to fund further acquisitions from the manager’s pipeline of investment opportunities, of which more than £100m of opportunities are under exclusivity and a further £150m is at advanced stages of due diligence. The manager expects 30 September asset valuations to be similar to those at 31 March, given the portfolio has performed in line with expectations since March. New shares form the placing will be entitled to receive the third quarter dividend which is expected to be declared in November.
• Background: SDCL Energy Efficiency Income last raised capital in June with a £110m placing that was upscaled from an initial target of £60m to meet investor demand. Since this point the company has committed £50m to electric vehicle charging infrastructure in the UK, in addition to acquiring a portfolio of CHP projects for an initial £5m and an energy efficiency project in Singapore for £2m. The fund has grown through a series of placings since it launched with IPO proceeds of £100m in December 2018. As a result, it now has a market cap of £473m. Energy efficiency and storage remains an in vogue sector with investors, particularly those with a sustainability focus. We note that Triple Point recently announced its intention to raise £200m for the IPO of a new investment company, Triple Point Energy Efficiency Infrastructure, which will invest in a diversified portfolio of energy efficiency assets in the UK that have a positive environmental impact and facilitate the transition to a low carbon economy.

Posted on Tuesday, 13 October 2020 10:02

SDCL Energy Efficiency Income Trust (SEEIT) is raising GBP 80.00 million under an existing share issue programme announced in June. The UK-closed-ended investment company is selling 76.20 million new stocks at 105.00 pence apiece, representing a 4.0 per cent premium to its net asset value of 101.00 pence, as at 31st March 2020. It noted the price is also a discount of 5.4 per cent to the close of 111.00 pence yesterday, being the last trading day prior to this announcement. Chairman Tony Roper said: “This proposed capital raise builds on the strong momentum SEEIT has achieved over the last two years. “Energy efficiency is critically important in global efforts to address the climate emergency and has become an increasing focus for investors. “The proceeds of this placing will allow SEEIT to continue to invest in this important and growing market whilst also delivering additional scale and diversification to shareholders.” Chief executive Jonathan Maxwell stated money raised will fund investments and new acquisitions. He added SEEIT already has its eye on opportunities that are either under exclusivity or at an advanced stage of negotiation and due diligence. As at 31st March 2020, the company had a portfolio of 26 assets – across technology, geography and credit counterparty – with an aggregate value of GBP 320.00 million. Since the end of March and a GBP 110.00 million capital increase in June 2020, SEEIT has acquired, or committed to buying, GBP 57.00 million-worth of assets. This includes ultra-fast electric vehicles charging stations in the UK; combined heat and power assets installed at various hotels in the country; and energy efficiency projects in Singapore. Zephyr, the M&A database published by Bureau van Dijk, shows 993 capital increases by UK-based companies have been announced in 2020 to date. SEEIT’s latest cash call currently ranks 98th by value.

SDCL Energy Efficiency Income Trust plc (SEEIT), managed by Sustainable Development Capital LLP, intends on raising £80 million through an issue of new ordinary shares at a price of 105.0 pence per ordinary shares.

Full article here: https://cleanenergypipeline.com/news/seeit-floats-80-million-capital-raise/

Energy efficiency investor SDCL Energy Efficiency Income Trust launched a share placing to raise £80 million to fund investment opportunities.

New shares in the company were being offered at 105p per share, representing a 5.4% discount to its closing price on Monday.

The company said it was pursuing opportunities including investments under exclusivity with an aggregate equity value of over £100 million.

These included an established operational European regulated energy network in a major Western European city, and a pipeline of follow-on investments from the company’s existing portfolio.

SDCL Energy Efficiency also cited investments at an advanced stages of due diligence, or in bilateral negotiation , with an aggregate equity value of over £150 million.

These included a portfolio of commercial and industrial on-site solar projects in the US and further investment in combined heat and power projects in the UK.

At 9:40am: [LON:SEIT] share price was -4.5p at 106.5p

• SDCL Energy Efficiency has launched an £80m placing – it hopes to issue 76.2m shares at 105.0p (a 5.4% discount to last night’s 111p close and a 4% premiumto NAV. The company has £100m of investments under exclusivity including an established operational European regulated energy network in a major Western European city, and a pipeline of follow-on investments from the Company’s existing portfolio. Plus a further £150m at advanced stages of due diligence including a portfolio of commercial and industrial on-site solar projects in the USA and further investment in combined heat and power projects for commercial, industrial and public sector buildings in the UK.

IPE STAFF 13 OCTOBER 2020

SDCL Energy Efficiency Income Trust is planning to raise £80m (€87.2m) by issuing new shares at 105p each.

The London-listed energy efficiency investor said the new capital will be used to fund further investments and new acquisitions.

The proposed fundraise is in line with the firm’s existing share issuance programme, the company said.

Tony Roper, chairman of SDCL Energy Efficiency Income Trust, said: “This proposed capital raise builds on the strong momentum SEEIT has achieved over the last two years. Energy efficiency is critically important in global efforts to address the climate emergency and has become an increasing focus for investors.

“The proceeds of this placing will allow SEEIT to continue to invest in this important and growing market whilst also delivering additional scale and diversification to shareholders.”

Jonathan Maxwell, CEO of SDCL’s investment manager Sustainable Development Capital, said: “The capital raised from this additional placing will be deployed to fund further investments and new acquisitions as we continue to grow SEEIT’s portfolio and deliver cheaper, cleaner and more reliable energy solutions.

”We currently have a wide pipeline of investment opportunities, several of which are either under exclusivity or at an advanced stage of negotiation and due diligence, that will diversify SEEIT’s portfolio in terms of technology, geography and counterparty and continue to deliver returns to shareholders in line with the company’s objectives.”