Sindicatum Carbon Capital Group Acquires Verdeo Group Inc. to Create Leader in US Carbon and Clean Energy Market

WASHINGTON and SINGAPORE, March 17, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Today Sindicatum Carbon Capital Group ("SCC"), the Singapore-headquartered climate change and global sustainable resources company, announced that it acquired 100% of the outstanding shares of Verdeo Group Inc., the leading North American methane and emissions management firm.  

Both companies are privately held and the total consideration was not disclosed.  The acquisition has been approved by both Boards of Directors and is subject to shareholder approval.

Verdeo will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of SCC and will operate as SCC's North American business unit with the primary objective of expanding SCC's asset base in that market.  Verdeo will continue to be led by Josh Green, its current CEO, and will operate from its existing office in Washington D.C.  SCC's current US operations will be integrated with Verdeo's.  

The combined business will operate a portfolio of projects in the North American mining, landfill, and oil & gas sectors.  The portfolio includes the largest coal mine methane project in the US, several operating clean energy generation assets and multiple projects listed on the Climate Action Reserve and other leading GHG registries in the US.  

The combination also gives SCC unrivaled capabilities to offer unique technology and finance solutions to leading mining companies operating in the largest global coal markets of China and the US, enabling them to achieve near zero emissions during mining.  SCC already has a leadership position in the Chinese coal mine methane market and operates several projects (in conjunction with China's largest coking coal group) which capture methane emissions from mining operations and convert the methane into clean energy.  In the US, Verdeo is a leader in developing methane emissions reduction projects in the mining industry.  

Assaad Razzouk, SCC Group CEO, said:  "We believe this transaction creates a market leader in the North American carbon and clean energy market and provides us with a solid platform for substantial US market growth.  We have long respected the Verdeo management team and note that Verdeo was recently named the 2010 Best Project Developer in North American compliance markets by two of the leading global publications covering environmental markets.  The transaction brings together Verdeo's US project portfolio and industry relationships with SCC's global track record of deploying capital and operating projects to create a leading, integrated project development platform in the region.  We believe this transaction puts in place the final plank of our strategy to be a leader in each of SCC's key markets globally (China, South East Asia, India, and the US)."

"The combination of Verdeo's and SCC's North American operations will significantly accelerate our growth in the market," said Josh Green, Verdeo's CEO.  "We believe SCC's global platform, technical expertise and financial strength will allow us to fully capture the value from Verdeo's pipeline of attractive projects.  The combined portfolio of Verdeo's emission reduction projects plus SCC's existing US asset base, including several landfill gas-to-energy projects and a pipeline of additional methane projects, positions the company to be a leader in what we expect will be a rapidly growing North American market for clean energy and environmental commodities," he added.

NOTES TO EDITORS:

ABOUT SCC

Singapore-headquartered Sindicatum Carbon Capital Group ("SCC") is a climate change and global sustainable resources company with offices in Bangkok, Beijing, Jakarta, London, New Delhi, Taiyuan and Washington D.C.  

SCC produces clean energy and environmental commodities (such as carbon credits) through the abatement or displacement of Greenhouse Gases ("GHGs") from a global portfolio of projects developed on a principal basis.  SCC provides the in-house expertise and finance required to originate, develop and operate such investments throughout their development and operational lifetime.   SCC is primarily focused on three core sectors, which in the near-term are expected to represent approximately 75% of SCC's total project portfolio by capital employed:

• Coal Mine Methane,
• Landfill Gas-to-Energy and
• Agricultural Solutions

To-date, Sindicatum has raised and committed over USD 300 million of capital, c. USD 105 million of which in the form of shareholders equity and the balance via a captive co-investment fund in which SCC has contributed 20% of the capital.  

Sindicatum utilises a dual approach of seeking capital protection via "utility" type revenues from clean energy business activities, while positioning its asset base to provide exposure and optionality across a range of possible scenarios for the development of global and local environmental commodities markets.

SCC's investor base includes multiple world class institutional investors.  SCC's existing shareholder base includes Citigroup Venture Capital International (CVCI), PineBridge Capital Partners LLC (formerly AIG Capital Partners, Inc.), the University of Texas Investment Management Company (UTIMCO), Black River Commodity Clean Energy Investment Fund LLC (an investment fund managed by Black River Asset Management, a wholly-owned, independently managed subsidiary of Cargill), Gulf One Investment Bank BSc, Permal Group (a business unit of Legg Mason Inc.) and Capital E Advisors, Inc.   Investors in the ISCCP include three leading US university endowment funds, five US foundations, the investment arm of a global strategic consulting firm, a European fund-of-funds group, alternative asset managers and several family offices.  

Sindicatum Carbon Capital's Board of Directors is chaired by Colin Goodall and its non-Executive Directors include former US Senator Thomas Daschle and former US Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham.  SCC's management team is headed by Assaad Razzouk, Group CEO, Robert Driscoll, President and Michael Boardman, Group CFO.  SCC's team consists of over 170 professionals.  

ABOUT VERDEO GROUP

Verdeo Group is a leading developer of emission reduction projects in North America, with a particular focus on capturing waste methane in the mining and oil and gas sectors.  Verdeo works with companies to design, implement, finance, and maximize value from projects that reduce emissions, generate new revenue streams and reduce compliance risk.  The company's clients include many of the leading firms in its target sectors, and Verdeo was recently named "Best Project Developer – North American Mandatory Markets" in the annual market survey conducted by Environmental Finance and Carbon Finance, two of the leading global publications covering environmental markets.

SOURCE Verdeo Group Inc.