Novera slates Infinis takeover attempt

30 October 2009

UK renewable energy company Novera Energy has come out against clean energy generator Infinis in an increasingly ugly takeover battle. Novera has urged shareholders to reject an offer by of 62.5 pence per Novera share, calling it ‘wholly inadequate’.

The company said that it had a strong platform for further growth, that the UK onshore wind market is an attractive sector for investors that remains relatively underpopulated in terms of the number of listed UK companies operating in that space. Novera claims 143MW of installed wind capacity, as well as 72MW of consented projects and 49MW of sites being brought through the planning process.

Roy Franklin, chairman, Novera, said, ‘The board considers this offer to be wholly inadequate. Novera has attractive core operating assets and an exciting and valuable wind portfolio. Our management team has strength in depth and the skills and experience to take our business forward. The board of Novera remains fully committed to delivering shareholder value to all its shareholders and therefore strongly urges Shareholders to reject this cheap and opportunistic Offer.”

Infinis responded by attacking Novera’s performance since it first walked away from a possible offer in June 2 2008 and October 6 this year, claiming that the company’s share price had fallen by 49 per cent over the period. It also claimed that the Novera’s share price had traded at an average of 40.8 pence per share, with a low of 29 pence in mid December.

The firm also questioned the stability of Novera’s leadership, saying both the CEO and CFO had departed the company within the last five months, and claimed that its offer would give shareholders a premium of of 43 per cent on the average closing mid-market price for the shares over the last six months.

The company said, ‘In the context of share price and operational under-performance, the failure to deliver profits or value for shareholders, the departure of the senior management team, the lack of a coherent strategy to drive growth, the challenges of forecasting and managing wind development projects, the possibility of further dilutive rights issues and the illiquidity of Novera shares, Infinis Energy believes that its Offer for Novera at a substantial premium represents a compelling opportunity for shareholders to realise value for their shares in cash.’

Infinis reportedly has 42 per cent of Novera and needs over 50 per cent to take control.

Copyright © 2009 NewNet

Tags: wind

This story was published on Friday, October 30th, 2009 at 7:19 pm and is filed under Europe, deals, wind. You can follow any responses to article entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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