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Released: 05/07/2005
RNS Number:4806O
PolyFuel Inc.
05 July 2005
Not for release, publication or distribution in, or into, the United States, Canada, Australia, Japan, the Republic of Ireland or South Africa
5th July 2005
POLYFUEL, INC.
ANNOUNCEMENT OF ADMISSION TO AIM AND COMMENCEMENT OF DEALING
PolyFuel, Inc. ("PolyFuel"), a world leader in engineering membranes for fuel cells, today announces the admission of its common shares and Series A warrants to the Alternative Investment Market ("AIM") and the commencement of dealing in its shares. Collins Stewart Limited is acting as nominated adviser and broker to PolyFuel.
Highlights
- The Company has raised £8 million through a placing of 15,686,276 shares and 7,843,138 warrants
- The placing was made at a price of 51p for one common share and one half of a warrant
- Each of the securities being issued consists of one common share and a warrant to purchase one half of a common share of the Company
- Based on the placing price of 51p per security and 44,461,582 common shares in issue, PolyFuel will have a market capitalisation of approximately £22.7 million
- The warrants issued in connection with the placing will be exercisable for a period of 18 months from the Admission date at a price of 60p per share, which will raise a further £4.7 million if exercised in full
- Appointment of two new Non-Executive Directors - Graham Titcombe (62) and Harry Fitzgibbons (68)
- The shares have been listed on AIM under the symbol of PYF and the warrants under the symbol of PYFW.
Jim Balcom, Chief Executive of PolyFuel, said:
"This is an extremely exciting moment for PolyFuel. The funds raised from our listing on AIM will help us to accelerate the next phase of our development in engineering fuel cell membranes for the portable electronics market.
The Directors believe that our market leading hydrocarbon membrane technology has the potential to deliver significant opportunities by 2007/08 when fuel cells will be commercially available and will enable laptops, 3G mobiles and other portable electronics devices to deliver unlimited, unplugged run-times.
We have seen excellent support from our venture capital shareholders since 1999, and we now look forward to driving PolyFuel's next stage of development and to delivering value to our existing and new shareholders."
ENDS
For further information please contact:
Jim Balcom via Hogarth Partnership
Chief Executive Officer
Poly
Fuel Nick Denton/Vanessa Orr 020 7357 9477
Hogarth Partnership
Stephen Keys 020 7523 8350
Collins Stewart Limited
High resolution images are available for the media to view and download free of charge from www.vismedia.co.uk.
This announcement has been approved for the purposes of Section 21 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 by Collins Stewart Limited, which is authorised and regulated by The Financial Services Authority.
This announcement does not constitute or form part of any offer or invitation to sell or issue or any solicitation of any offer to purchase or subscribe for any securities in any jurisdiction, nor shall it (or any part of it) or the fact of its distribution form the basis of, or be relied upon in connection with, or act as any inducement to enter into, any contract or commitment therefore.
Recipients of this announcement who intend to purchase or subscribe for shares in the Company following publication of the final admission document are reminded that any such purchase or subscription must only be made solely on the basis of the information contained in the admission document relating to the Company in its final form.
This document does not constitute an offer of securities in the United States, nor may shares be offered or sold in the United States, nor may shares be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an exemption from registration under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933 as amended (the "Securities Act"), and the rules and regulations thereunder, and any public offering of shares in the United States will be made by means of a Prospectus that will contain detailed information about the Company and management, as well as financial statements. The Company does not presently intend to register any securities under the Securities Act."
NOTES TO EDITORS
PolyFuel is a world leader in engineering hydrocarbon-based membranes that provide breakthrough performance in fuel cells for portable electronic and automotive applications.
The key features of PolyFuel and its fuel cell membrane technology are:
- PolyFuel has developed a hydrocarbon based membrane for use in portable fuel cells. The Directors believe this membrane can enable laptops, 3G mobiles and other portable consumer electronic devices as well as military and industrial devices to deliver unlimited, unplugged run-times by 2007/08.
- There is a significant and growing market need for enhanced portable power. The amount of energy that today's lithium ion and lithium polymer batteries can store is growing by approximately 8% per annum, mobile device power consumption is growing at roughly three times this rate, as a result of increasing capabilities such as video and wireless high speed data. These capabilities come at the cost of battery life of less than one hour, something that is frustrating users of next generation 3G handsets. Despite continuous progress in laptops in the last decade, limited battery runtime remains a feature that has not changed significantly, restricting the opportunities for use "any time, anywhere".
- Significant numbers of consumers already pay for portable battery recharging in Japan and Korea where the need is especially acute, as enhanced device capabilities are being increasingly restricted by limited run-time. Mobile phone recharging kiosks are also being introduced in the UK and Europe to support 3G handset implementation. Meanwhile, consumer frustration is expected to increase - as volumes and market share of 3G enabled mobiles and laptops grow significantly in Europe and elsewhere around the world by 2010*.
- Fuel cells resolve the issue of limited run-time by providing instant recharging capability using a methanol fuel cartridge. Methanol is the preferred fuel for portable fuel cells due to its very high energy density and is easily portable, light, easy to use and low cost.
- The worldwide portable fuel cell market is projected to be roughly 4.8 million units by 2007, rising to 26.8 million units by 2009.**
- Three of the top lithium ion battery manufacturers, and the majority of the global consumer electronics manufacturers such as Hitachi, IBM, Fujitsu, LG, NEC, Toshiba, Samsung, Sanyo, Sharp and Sony are actively working on developing Direct Methanol Fuel Cells ("DMFCs") for portable applications. Several of these have announced their intention to introduce portable devices powered by DMFCs within the next three years.
- PolyFuel is currently working with 15 of the leading fuel cell system developers. Eleven of these are major consumer electronics manufacturers ("OEMs") and PolyFuel aims to establish its membrane as the standard for the DMFC portable power market. To date, 13 of the 15 leading portable fuel cell system developers have tested or are in the process of testing PolyFuel's membrane. Of the 13, eight have now completed their evaluation testing and all eight have gone on to purchase PolyFuel's membrane.
- Fuel cell development has historically been held back by inadequate membrane technology. PolyFuel has changed this by achieving a number of major breakthroughs with its hydrocarbon membrane technology, which have involved significant improvements in efficiency and performance over other fuel cell membrane technologies. PolyFuel has 22 patent applications that are expected to issue between 2005 and 2007.
- Unlike other technology providers in the fuel cell market, PolyFuel has chosen to focus exclusively on engineering fuel cell membranes, rather than complete fuel cell systems. By pursuing this strategy, PolyFuel has positioned itself as a neutral supplier of a key enabling membrane technology, rather than a competitor to the leading fuel cell system developers.
- PolyFuel is ready to support its world leading OEM customers, having established, its Directors believe, market leading capabilities for continuous roll-to-roll membrane fabrication; catalyst application to membrane; extensive testing infrastructure and rapid prototyping capabilities.
- Whilst it is the Directors' intention to concentrate on the portable device market for consumer electronics, industrial and military applications, PolyFuel is also developing hydrocarbon membrane technology for use in automotive fuel cells. Several of the world's leading car manufacturers have indicated that membrane improvements are required in this market as well. These companies are actively involved in the evaluation of PolyFuel's membrane. Although this market will take longer to come on stream, the automotive market has the potential to be even larger than the portable fuel cell market.
- To date, PolyFuel has raised approximately US$ 40 million to fund its operations from leading US and international venture capital funds, including Intel Capital. The net proceeds of the Placing will be used to drive PolyFuel's technology to commercialisation and to provide additional working capital for the Company.
* Frost & Sullivan and ABI 2004 industry reports.
** Figures based on average figures from Frost & Sullivan and ABI 2004 industry reports.
Directors and key management
Brief biographies of the Directors are set out below:
Robert Jecmen, Non-Executive Chairman, 55
Robert worked for Intel Corporation for 24 years before retiring in 2000. One of his most recent positions included Vice President of Intel Architecture Group where he managed Intel's Mobile Platform Group, which developed and marketed the building blocks and technologies for the laptop computer industry. Prior to this, he was Vice President of Intel's Technology and Manufacturing Group and was responsible for managing the silicon technology development and manufacturing proliferation for Intel's flash memory business and several generations of their microprocessor product line. Robert is currently working as a private consultant and as a director of Ovonyx, Inc.
Jim Balcom, President and Chief Executive Officer, 46
Jim joined PolyFuel in September 2002 from Chrysalix, the fuel cell venture capital firm, where he was Entrepreneur-in-Residence for approximately one year. Prior to Chrysalix, Jim spent four years with Sonigistix, a technology start-up in various VP positions developing and commercializing a flat panel speaker technology licensed from the University of British Columbia. He ultimately became President of the company and negotiated its sale to one of the audio industry's larger players in 2001. Prior to Sonigistix, Jim spent four years with Ballard Power Systems in senior fuel cell development engineering and fuel cell manufacturing management positions. Previously, Jim spent several years in various operating and management positions with Ball Packaging and Stuart Plastics Recycling Ltd, as well as management consulting experience with Coopers and Lybrand and Touche Ross and Partners.
Mark Campion, Chief Financial Officer, 49
Mark joined PolyFuel in April 2003. He has more than 25 years of experience across a broad range of financial and operational disciplines. He has held senior-level positions with a number of public and private companies, including Atomic Tangerine, Trans Ocean, GRI International, Activision, and KPMG.
Graham Titcombe, Senior Non-Executive Director, 62
Graham joins the PolyFuel board as Senior Non-Executive Director at the same time as PolyFuel's Admission to AIM. Graham worked for Johnson Matthey Plc ("JM") for 42 years, holding various positions until he was appointed to the board in 1990. At the time of his retirement in 2002, he was Group Managing Director, responsible for the Precious Metals Division and the Colours and Coatings division as well as the JM board member responsible for technology. Graham's outside directorships have included Ballard Power Systems, the World Fuel Cell Council, and Infast Group Plc where he is currently Chairman.
Harry Fitzgibbons, Non-Executive Director, 68
Harry joins the PolyFuel board as Non-Executive Director at the same time as PolyFuel's Admission to AIM. Harry was a director of Hambros Bank from 1972 to 1983 with responsibility for United States corporate finance and for Hambro's portfolio of international unquoted investments. He was instrumental in establishing Boston Hambro Capital Company and Hambros International Venture Fund, both of which were venture investors in the United States. In 1982, he started Hambros Advanced Technology Trust, a venture capital fund in the UK which was a founding shareholder in Vodafone. He established Top Technology Ventures in 1986 as a venture fund manager and it is now investing its fourth fund in early stage technology. Harry was a Non-Executive Director of Johnson Matthey from 1990 to 2002 and is currently a Non-Executive Director of Ceres Power and Conduit Ventures Limited.
David Berkowitz, Non-Executive Director, 38
David joined the PolyFuel board as Non-Executive Director in 2002. David is Senior Vice President at Ventures West Capital where he leads the Energy & Materials Technology practice. He started in the venture capital industry with Motorola New Enterprises in 1995 and joined Ventures West the following year. He is a director of Angstrom Power, CarboPur, Cellex Power, QuestAir, Serveron Corporation and a variety of not-for-profit organisations.
Grant Heidrich, III, Non-Executive Director, 52
Grant joined the PolyFuel board as Non-Executive Director in 2000. Grant has been in venture capital for 25 years, principally at Mayfield where he is currently a Partner Emeritus. He was a Managing Director for more than two decades for the Mayfield Funds IV-X and has also co-managed Mayfield's healthcare initiative and established the firm's highly regarded franchise in healthcare. He currently serves on the boards of several private companies including Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Cytokinetics and PolyFuel. Grant served as Chairman of the Board of Tularik until it was acquired by Amgen. Currently he is also Chairman of the Advisory Board of Harvard Partners Center for Genetics and Genomics and an advisor to Prospect Venture Partners. During his venture career, he has been on the Boards of more than 20 public and private companies. He was the past President of the Western Association of Venture Capital and a former member of the board of directors of the National Venture Capital Association.
This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
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