Acquisition of U.S. technology designer positions Dutch company to take global leadership role in new-generation biorefinery production.
Amsterdam, The Netherlands, and Williamsburg, Virginia, USA, July 17, 2007 – Shuki Raz, Chief Executive Officer of Bateman Litwin, announced a definitive agreement under which his company will acquire privately held Delta-T Corporation, a leading US-based bioethanol technology provider, with a fast growing engineering, procurement and construction (“EPC”) division for a total consideration of US $45 million in cash and 11.8 million new ordinary shares in BatemanLitwin, subject to adjustment (the Acquisition). Completion of the Acquisition is condistional upon the Acquisition having been approved by the shareholers of Bateman Litwin at an Extraordianry General Meeting on August 21, 2007.
For over two decades, Delta-T has led the fuel ethanol industry with research-driven breakthroughs as well as continuous technological improvement. Rob Swain, who will become CEO of Delta-T, now Bateman Litwin’s largest business unit, explains that the Delta-T advances “have made ethanol production more practical and investment more profitable. Our biorefinery design producing fuel ethanol runs on much less energy, takes far less water, reduces total operating costs significantly, and uses a unique water recycling system resulting in zero process wastewater.”
Swain says that Bateman Litwin “brings the greater resources and expertise necessary to accelerate our technological lead in major fuel-ethanol markets around the world.” He stresses how the agreement “enhances the value we bring to customers by offering bankable, design-build solutions with a company that is world-class in delivering EPC projects on time and within budget.”
Swain adds that all commitments, contracts, deals, and alliances with customers, EPC partners, and business partners will remain intact. The merger will not change but enhance and supplement Delta-T’s existing business model and partnerships.
Bibb Swain, founder and chairman of Delta-T, will guide the consolidated technology group to accelerate the development and roll-out of new technologies. “The production of biofuels from biomass is not a passing fad,” he says. “It will be with us for as long as we live on this planet. Though we are rapidly approaching the end of the corn-to-ethanol boom, we are still working hard on new technologies to retrofit older, less-efficient plants to keep them competitive in the years ahead. We will be building new generation corn-based biorefineries many years into the future, but not at anything close to the pace we’ve seen recently. Ethanol from biomass is just around the corner, and that will open an exciting new era in biofuels. We’ve only scratched the surface of the possibilities that lay ahead.”
According to Shuki Raz, “The vision of Delta-T will now be ours: Delta-T ethanol plants will be self-energy producers, meaning they will need no outside energy for processing from grain to ethanol. Our systems and skills on the EPC side, which built Bateman Litwin the past 30 years, will add efficiencies to the jobs at hand as well as offer Delta-T technology to more projects worldwide. We plan to be the first to introduce an economically feasible and socially responsible biomass-to-ethanol production plant to the world. This is our future in about five years.”
Roy Franklin, Chairman of Bateman Litwin, observes that “bringing together these two companies benefits not just our shareholders but also the industry at large. Our resources, combined with Delta-T’s talent, will rapidly reduce the environmental footprint required to produce fuel ethanol. That means a cleaner renewable fuel for everyone.”
Bateman Litwin is listed on the Alternate Investment Market (AIM) of the London Stock Exchange under the symbol: BNLN.L.
Acquisition highlights
The Acquisition accelerates several key areas of Bateman Litwin’s strategy:
combines the Group’s EPC and process engineering skills with one of the leading proprietary technologies in bioethanol production
enhances Bateman Litwin’s growing presence in environmental related technology and renewable energy markets
typical contract size of US$120-250 million plays to Bateman Litwin’s strengths
Delta-T’sbacklog, as of 30 June 2007, amounted to c.US$500 million providing a substantial addition to Bateman Litwin’s existing backlog
Provides immediate, sizeable entry into the over US$10 billion US ethanol market up to 2013 (new plants)
Creates a substantial platform for bioethanol market expansion into Europe, the Far East, CIS, and Australia
Expected to enhance earnings per share in the first full financial year of ownership
About Bateman Litwin N.V.
Bateman Litwin N.V. is a mid-sized Energy EPC (engineering procurement and construction) contractor and a proprietary technology provider in the Renewable Energy and the Phosphate and Solvent Extraction dependent industries. It is increasingly furthering its reputation by combining its world class EPC skills with its leading technology expertise. To find out more visit Bateman Litwin at: www.bateman-litwin.com
About Delta-T
Delta-T is a technology provider and constructor of biofuel processing plants. Delta-T was founded in 1984 by Mr. Bibb Swain, the current CEO. Headquartered in Williamsburg, Virginia, USA and it currently employs over 200 people. The company has pioneered ethanol development from an original focus on fuel ethanol to biofuels, refined alcohols and biorefinery advancements. With technology as its core EPT competency, Delta-T’s business model has been extended to deliver technology products through EPC design and build partnerships.
Delta-T has established a well-defined business model and has a dominant presence in the rapidly growing US and Canadian ethanol. Delta-T’s international focus is primarily on emerging fuel ethanol markets in China, India, Africa, CSI, and Australia. They recently launched Delta-T -Europe where they bundled resources from project development to build greener bio-businesses across Europe in record time.
Delta-T is known for its breakthrough as a designer of high-tech biorefineries producing ultra-pure and ultra-dry alcohols and the world’s most environmentally-friendly ethanol plant without sacrificing profitability to the owner. Every Delta-T biorefinery producing fuel ethanol built has the reputation of never releasing any process wastewater–a design feat unmatched in the industry. Current operating Delta-T plants consume about 2.8 gallons of fresh water per gallon of undenatured ethanol produced and its co-products which is 30-40% less than competing technologies. Delta-T’s latest technology lowers this number to below 1.5 gallons in corn–fed plants. Outside energy use per gallon has also been cut a third–while producing a higher-quality and higher-protein livestock feed back into the world’s food supply. www.deltatcorp.com
For more information, please contact: Thomas Corle, Communications Director in US at 717 626-0557 or email: tcorle@deltatcorp.com
Photo caption: From left to right, Rob Swain, CEO of Delta-T, Bibb Swain, founder and chairman of Delta-T, Shuki Raz, CEO of Bateman Litwin, Roy Franklin, Chairman of Bateman Litwin, pose in front of Delta-T headquarters in Williamsburg, Virginia, USA
