Opcon: Directed share issue of 30 m shares at 0,57 SEK/share to Chinese Snowman
- Decision by the Board to issue 30.000.000 shares at 0,57 SEK/share
- Strengthens strategic cooperation in order to get Opcon technology to the Chinese market
As authorized by the annual general meeting of shareholders, Opcon’s Board has decided to carry out a directed issue of 30.000.000 new shares at a price of SEK 0.57 per share. The shares are issued for Hong Kong Snowman Technology Ltd. who has subscribed for the full amount.
After the registration of the new shares, the total number of issued shares in Opcon Aktiebolag (publ) will amount to 374.414.145.
Ever since the summer 2011, the energy and environmental technology Group Opcon’s Center of Excellence for compressor technology, Svenska Rotor Maskiner (SRM), has built a closer cooperation with Snowman in China for development of cutting-edge, energy-efficient cooling compressors for manufacturing in China.
Only during the last year sales of development of screw-compressors to Snowman has close to tripled.
During 2013, Hong Kong Snowman Technology Ltd. became a 10 % owner of Opcon. With this new share issue Snowman increases its ownership to 17.2 %.
The rights issue aim at strengthening the development of the long-term strategic cooperation that has been initiated and to tie both companies even closer together. At the same time it strengthens Opcon’s financial position and helps creating resources for present focus areas like the marine version of the Opcon Powerbox.
“Our relationship with Snowman has been strengthened significantly during this last year and we now plan for significant business with each other in the years to come. Both regarding further development and as a result of the license agreement already signed. But also in other areas where we want take the technology we have developed to the Chinese market. With what we see of Snowman’s plans and investments I believe this license agreement might be SRM’s largest and most important one ever, where success for Snowman will mean success for Opcon”, says Rolf Hasselström, President and CEO of Opcon AB.
“SRM’s technology is cutting-edge, world leading and an important part of our offer to our customers. With our investment in Opcon we want to strengthen the company and secure and build a foundation for long-term development of the very good cooperation we have initiated where SRM and Opcon are and will be of strategic importance to us. A state-of-the-art development of energy- and environmental technology is of utmost importance for China and Snowman as a company,” says Rujie Lin, President and Managing Director of Fuijan Snowman Co. Ltd.
The price of the share issue has been set to 0.57 SEK/share. The rights issue will bring Opcon 17.100.000 SEK before costs. Allocation of shares and registration for trading is expected before the end of March 2014.
The company’s share capital will increase by SEK 35.500.000. Since the subscription price for the issue has been set at an amount below the shares’ nominal value, SEK 20.400.000 shall be transferred to the company’s share capital through a transfer from shareholders’ equity.
Hong Kong Snowman Technology Ltd. is a fully owned subsidiary of Fuijan Snowman Co. Ltd, Fuzhou, Fuijan, China. Fuijan Snowman Co. Ltd was founded in 2000 and is listed on the Shenzen stock exchange. The Group has around 650 employees. Snowman is one of China’s largest actors in industrial cooling. Marketing of its goods and services is primarily done through the brand Snowkey.
For further information, please contact
Niklas Johansson, vice president, Investor Relations, Opcon AB, tel. 46 8-466 45 00, 46-70-592 54 53
Opcon AB, Box 15085, 104 65 Stockholm, Sweden
Tel. 46 8-466 45 00, fax 46 8-716 76 61
e-mail: info@Opcon.se
The Opcon Group
Opcon is an energy and environmental technology Group that develops, produces and markets systems and products for eco-friendly, efficient and resource-effective use of energy.
Opcon has activities in Sweden, Germany and the UK. There are around 150 employees. The company’s shares are listed on Nasdaq OMX Stockholm. The Group comprises one business area:
Renewable Energy focuses on the following areas: electricity generation based on waste heat, bioenergy-powered heating and CHP plants, pellets plants, handling systems for biomass, sludge and natural gas, industrial cooling, flue gas condensation, treatment of flue gases and air systems for fuel cells.
About SRM
Svenska Rotor Maskiner AB (SRM) is Opcon's Center of Excellence for compressor technology. In 2008, SRM celebrated 100 years of industrialization and development of technology for effective and resource-efficient energy usage. SRM was founded in 1908 as AB Ljungströms Ångturbin, in order to develop the double rotation steam turbine which was invented by Birger Ljungström and that was later sold to what today is the turbine manufacturer, Siemens Industrial Turbomachinery AB. For over 100 years, SRM has developed a number of products for the world market and since the 1930s has developed compressor technologies, with major licensees such as Howden, Kobe Steel, Atlas Copco, Hitachi, IR, Carrier, York, Trane, Kobelco, among others. This technological basis today forms an important part of the Renewable Energy business area's efforts in Waste Heat Recovery and production of electricity from waste heat, including Opcon Powerbox.
Opcon AB (publ) is obliged to disclose the information in this press release in accordance with the Swedish law governing the securities markets and/or trading in financial instruments.
The information was submitted for publication at 08.15 (CET) on Friday 21 February 2014.
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