IHS acquires Intellichem

ihs_logo_mpIHS has acquired Intellichem, a strategic company that will strengthen IHS Chemical business in Latin America. Intellichem was founded by Dr. Rina Quijada. The terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Intellichem publishes a bi-weekly report (QuiMax, in partnership with MaxiQuim) on the olefin and plastics markets in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Mexico and Venezuela. Intellichem also provides market intelligence on chemicals and plastics in Latin America.

“With Intellichem’s deep relationships throughout Latin America and its foothold in the chemical market advisory sector, we believe this acquisition gives IHS an important presence and significant growth potential in a key geography,” said IHS President and CEO Scott Key.

USA, Englewood, CO & Houston, TX

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IHS acquires PFC Energy

ihs_logo_mpInformation company IHS has acquired PFC Energy, a global consulting firm specialising in the oil and gas industry. Its clients are oil and gas operators, national oil companies, service companies, investors, governments and other stakeholders. The terms of the deal were not disclosed.

PFC Energy was founded in 1984 and focuses exclusively on the energy sector, covering all phases of the energy value chain, and the pfc energyassets and activities of key countries and companies. It has 130 professional staff and is based in Washington, D.C. and also maintains offices in Houston, Kuala Lumpur, Moscow, Paris, Beijing and Singapore.

“The acquisition of PFC Energy brings energy information and research depth and strengthens our presence in North America, Europe, Asia Pacific and the Middle East,” said Scott Key, IHS president and chief executive officer. “For more than 25 years, PFC Energy has built a solid reputation as an integrated information, research and advisory firm covering the oil and gas value chain. This gives us the opportunity to expand the IHS presence in high-growth markets, and to leverage the skills and expertise of regionally located research colleagues who will support the growth of critical IHS energy solutions.”

USA, Englewood, CO & Washington, DC

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Ameresco acquires UK energy management business ESP

amerescoAmeresco, an energy efficiency and renewable energy company based in Framingham, MA, has acquired ESP, an energy management consulting company consisting of The Energy Services Partnership and ESP Response, located in Castleford, UK. The terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Founded in 2002 and incorporated in 2009, ESP is a  provider of  energy management solutions, including energy supply, invoice management and demand response services for commercial, industrial, manufacturing and utility customers.

“ESP is an exciting addition to the Ameresco family and will expand our enterprise energy management services to help support our multi-national customers that have additional requirements in the United Kingdom,” said George P. Sakellaris, President and Chief Executive Officer, Ameresco. “With this acquisition, we add local expertise to our EEM team and extend Ameresco’s energy supply and information services for our commercial, industrial and manufacturing customers with offices and requirements outside of North America. We look forward to working with the talented ESP team to further develop and cultivate growth opportunities serving not only Ameresco’s multi-national customers’ needs in the United Kingdom, but also ESP’s clients with offices and facilities in North America.”

“The entire ESP team is very pleased with the opportunity to enhance our delivery of sustainable services to our customers as part of Ameresco and to provide our expertise and services to Ameresco’s EEM customers in the United Kingdom,” said Derek Dixon, Chief Executive, ESP. “This acquisition also provides a great opportunity for our customers to benefit from the additional services and resources offered by Ameresco, a leading provider of energy efficiency and renewable energy services.”

Framingham, MA & UK, Castleford, West Yorkshire

Ameresco’s acquisition history

  • In July 2012, the Company’s wholly owned subsidiary Ameresco Canada Inc. acquired FAME, a privately held company offering infrastructure asset management solutions serving both public and private sector customers primarily in western Canada. The Company made a cash payment of $4,486,950 to acquire all of the outstanding stock of FAME.
  • In December 2011, the Company’s wholly owned subsidiary AIS acquired the xChange Point and energy projects businesses, including automated demand response, from EPS. The Company made an initial cash payment of $4,497,141 to acquire these assets. The purchase price is subject to post-closing adjustments for pro-ration of certain revenue and expense items and for certain indemnity obligations of EPS.
  • In August 2011, the Company acquired Ameresco Southwest (then known as APS Energy Services, Inc.) from Pinnacle West Capital Corporation. The Company made a cash payment of $50,057,113 to acquire all of the outstanding stock of Ameresco Southwest.
  • In July 2011, the Company acquired all of the outstanding capital stock of AEG for an initial cash payment of $11,993,236. The former stockholders of AEG, all of whom are now employees of the Company, may be entitled to receive up to $5,000,000 in additional consideration if AEG meets certain financial performance milestones.
  • In August 2010, the Company acquired Quantum Engineering and Development Inc. (“Quantum”) for an initial cash payment of $6,150,000. During April 2011, the Company made an additional payment of $1,956,366 in accordance with certain provisions of the stock purchase agreement with the former shareholders of Quantum.

Utilitywise plc to acquire Energy Information Centre Limited for £15.5 million

utilitywiseUtilitywise plc, a utility cost management consultancy, is to acquire  Energy Information Centre Limited (“EIC”) for a total equity consideration of £15.5 million. Plus they will clear EIC’s mortgage debt.

To fund the transaction, Utilitywise are placing new ordinary shares of 0.1 pence each by finnCap Limited to raise £5 million and a secondary placing of existing Ordinary Shares by finnCap Limited on behalf of certain directors and Hub Capital Partners to raise £17.2 million at a price of 100 pence .

In 2007,on behalf of Euromoney Institutional Investor PLC, Fusion Corporate Partners sold EIC to Broadfern Partners. Then in 2009 Broadfern rebranded as EIC.

Transaction highlights:

Total equity consideration of £15.5 million, to be satisfied by:eic

  • £10.5 million in cash
  • £5 million in new Utilitywise shares
  • In addition, Utilitywise will repay EIC’s existing mortgage debt of £1.94 million
  • Placing of £5 million in new Utilitywise shares to part fund cash consideration. Placing at 100p per share, representing a discount of 6.5% to the closing mid price as at 12 June 2013
  • The consideration represents historic EV/EBITDA* multiple of 6.7x

Geoff Thompson, CEO of Utilitywise, commented: “The acquisition of EIC creates an energy procurement and consultancy firm of real scale and adds further products and expertise to our already impressive portfolio. EIC’s strength lies predominantly in the larger, Industrial & Commercial segment of the market, an area which we had identified as a strategic area of growth, which combined with our market leading position in the SME segment gives us a strong foothold across the market and an excellent platform for growth. Utilising our outstanding proprietary IT and business analysis systems and our combined product range, we believe that we can identify and target a much greater portion of the I&C market, maximise the strength of the EIC brand and, thereby, the return on this investment for our shareholders.

“Since Utilitywise listed on AiM we have carefully added strategic, complementary offerings to our business through the acquisitions of Clouds (energy management) and Aqua Veritas (water consultancy). With the addition of EIC we now have an extremely compelling portfolio of products and services to meet the diverse energy needs of clients of all sizes and the expertise to deliver them. I would like to thank shareholders for their continued support as we continue to look to the future with great confidence.”

A circular will be sent today to shareholders giving notice of a general meeting of Utilitywise to be held on 2 July 2013 at 9.00 a.m. at the offices of finnCap Limited, 60 New Broad Street, London EC2M 1JJ. A copy of the circular can be found on the Company’s website http://www.utilitywise.com.

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ICIS acquires carbon market analytics specialist Tschach Solutions GmbH

icisICIS, a global provider of energy market information and a division of Reed Business Information, is to acquire Tschach Solutions GmbH, a specialist carbon market analytics company based in Karlsruhe, Germany. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Tschach

Tschach Solutions, founded in 2010, offers a comprehensive portfolio of data, information and analytics products for the carbon market.Products include short and long-term price forecasts, which combine analysis of market fundamentals, policy and trading behaviour in the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) and the global Clean Development Mechanism (CDM).  Tschach Solutions produces a range of data, delivered through online, written report and consulting propositions.

“Tschach Solutions is a fast growing business whose approach to market analysis has proved highly effective. This acquisition increases ICIS capability in short and long-term energy market analysis,” said Christopher Flook, Managing Director of ICIS. “Our collective capabilities will provide customers with unique insights”.

Dr Ingo Tschach, Managing Director of Tschach Solutions added that “ICIS’ strong position across the energy information market, coupled with its extensive sales and marketing capability, provides the opportunity to accelerate our plans for future growth. As part of ICIS, we are better positioned to capitalise on the increasing need for carbon market data and analysis”.

UK, Sutton, Surrey & Germany, Karlsruhe

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WPP acquires Sinotrust Market Research in China from Experian

wppWPP‘s wholly-owned operating company TNS, a custom research company, is to acquire Sinotrust Market Research, a  market research and consulting company in China, from Experian. The deal is subject to regulatory approval. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Founded in 1992, Sinotrust Market Research employs 350 people and has offices in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou. Sinotrust Market Research is the industry market leader in automotive market research in China.experian Its offering includes consumer research, product research, brand research, channel research and customer research analysis.  It has a blue-chip client list that includes leading automobile companies.

Sinotrust Market Research’s unaudited revenues for the year ended 31 March 2013 were RMB 255 million, with gross assets at the same date of RMB 95 million.

UK, London & China, Beijing

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GfK acquires agricultural insights business Paterson Consulting

Market research firm GfK has acquired agricultural insights business Paterson Consulting. Paterson Consulting has established new offices in Sydney and Melbourne, Australia, for its Animal and Crop Health team.

The expanded group will report to Ai Chen Kueh, Head of Animal and Crop Health for GfK in APAC, and will complement and support activities in Japan, China, India, Thailand, Philippines, Indonesia, Vietnam, and Malaysia. The Sydney office opened in early February 2013, with Melbourne following last week.

“With these moves, we are making a strong statement about GfK’s commitment to serving the needs of this blossoming industry in the APAC market,” said Kueh. “We are focused on providing turnkey solutions for manufacturers and other firms that need to take a global approach to marketing and insight generation. The expertise of Paterson Consulting complements our existing team with additional deep industry knowledge benefiting our Animal and Crop Health clients. In addition GfK’s new Australian offices will be hubs for our increasing activities and resources in the region as a whole.”

The new, Melbourne-based team includes Will Paterson, previously Managing Director of Paterson Consulting. Bob Sloane, who previously headed agricultural market research at another agency, will lead GfK’s business from Sydney. Both are now Directors of Animal and Crop Health (ACH) for GfK in APAC. In addition, Stephen Wentworth will serve as Senior Research Manager of ACH in the region. Collectively, Paterson, Sloane, and Wentworth bring over 55 years of experience in the field to GfK.

USA, New York, NY & Australia, Sydney

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IHRDC acquires petroleum training company Invincible Energy

ihrdcIHRDC, an oil and gas industry training business, has acquired Invincible Energy, a U.K.-based petroleum training and consultancy company. Invincible offers a variety of petroleum trading, marketing and risk management programs on a public basis each year at Cambridge University, Geneva and Singapore. They alsoinvincible teach these programs on a private, in-house basis for companies worldwide. The terms of the deal were not disclosed.

“We really value the design of Invincible’s programs and the quality of its instructors, which is why we decided to make this acquisition.” said Dr. David Donohue, President of IHRDC. “They have an excellent reputation for teaching the fundamentals of the oil markets with practical exercises and real time access to market data. Their unique program design is very similar to our time-tested petroleum workshops that offer the best way to internalize learning. It is a win-win for us and our many common clients!”

USA, Boston, MA & UK, Farnham, Surrey

Utilitywise plc acquires Aqua Veritas Consulting Limited

utilitywise-logoUtilitywise,  a company that specialises in energy procurement and energy management services for businesses, has acquired Aqua Veritas Consulting Limited, a supplier of water consultancy services.

The acquisition will add Aqua Veritas’ product portfolio to Utilitywise’s  energy services. In addition, the acquisition secures ‘Osiris’ the intellectual property used to develop Utilitywise’s multi-utility reporting platform.

The initial consideration payable is £162,000, payable in cash on completion with a further deferred amount payable based upon 4 times Aqua Veritas’ adjusted EBITDA to April 2014 capped at £4 million. The deferred consideration will be financed equally from the Company’s cash resources and through the issue of new ordinary shares in Utilitywise. Aqua Veritas reported revenue of £1,296,288 in the year ended 31 March 2012.

Geoff Thompson, CEO of Utilitywise, commented:  “We have a stated strategy of supplementing our strong organic growth with selective aquavacquisitions which enhance our range of services. Aqua Veritas has an excellent reputation for high quality service in the market for water management solutions for businesses and a blue chip client base. It fits well with our core energy services and increases the range of products and services we can offer our customers.”

UK, South Shields & Leicestershire, Enderby

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Bglobal sells Utilisoft Australia to Hansen Corporation

bglobalSmart energy solutions and services business Bglobal plc has sold its Australian subsidiary, Utilisoft Pty Ltd (“Utilisoft Australia”), to Hansen Corporation Pty Ltd for a cash consideration of AUD$3.5 million (£2.36 million). Utilisoft Australia provides data management, software and process solutions to customers in the Australian energy market.  Hansen is an independent provider of billing, customer care and IT solutions to the telecommunications, electricity, gas and water industries.

In the year ending 31 March 2012, Utilisoft Australia achieved revenue of £2.38 million, operating profit of £0.36 million and profit before taxation of £0.39 million.  The net assets of Utilisoft Australia at 31 March 2012 were £0.40 million.

The sale of Utilisoft Australia will allow the Board to focus on its remaining UK operating businesses and continue to develop its “meter to cash” smart meter services platform.  During 2012, investment has been made in establishing Bsmart Energy Solutions, a company that is focused on delivering end to end energy services to the SME market and Nutech Training Limited, a company that provides dual fuel smart meter installation training. Both of these subsidiaries are now generating revenues for the Group. The cash proceeds of the sale will be used to invest in the further development of products and services, especially in the further development and testing of a PAYG integrated software solution for which the Group has received strong interest.

The Group now has a strengthened balance sheet, cash in the bank of approximately £3.4 million and the Board has confidence that further progress will be made during the current calendar year to capitalise on the opportunities that the Group is currently pursuing.

Tim Jackson-Smith, CEO, commented: “The sale of our Australian subsidiary strengthens the Group’s balance sheet and provides us with the resources to accelerate the development and field testing of our PAYG solution for which we have seen strong interest from existing energy suppliers and social and commercial landlords. I would like to thank all of the team at Utilisoft Pty for their commitment and hard work and look forward to seeing the business develop under its new owner.”

UK, Darwen, Lancashire & Australia, Bathurst NSW

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