Saturday, September 24, 2005
AIM overtaking US markets as place to launch renewable energy IPOs - analysis
London's Alternative Investment Market (AIM) is increasingly seen by financiers and industry players as the preferable place to launch a renewable energy IPO, according to people familiar with the market.
Speaking during the Euromoney Renewable Energy Finance Forum in London, Jens Mathiesen, an executive at investment fund Bankinvest Technology, said that "most IPOs in renewable energy are now launched on AIM. This was not the case a few years ago, when most took place on the US exchanges." He added that the general capital markets had now accepted the renewable energy sector. However, Mathiesen underlined that trade sales and other M&A activity remained the most active sector in the energy technology space.
Graham Dallas, the senior international business development manager at the London Stock Exchange (LSE), speaking to this news service on the sidelines of the conference, cited the lack of bureaucracy and regulation associated with an AIM listing as being one of the reasons why renewable energy groups are attracted to the exchange. He noted that 80% of all IPOs (not just energy ones) in western Europe took place on the London Stock Exchange (LSE), and added that 80% of these (65% of all IPOs in western Europe) took place on AIM.
Dallas cited the GBP 75m of capital raised in the AIM IPO of US firm Clipper Windpower earlier this month as a particularly successful recent example, but also mentioned the AIM debuts of Clean Diesel Technologies and Biofuels Corp as other examples of successful AIM green energy IPOS.
However, the exchange is not without its critics. Speaking during questions at the conference, Gianni Opoerto, a private equity principal at energy investment group Sustainable Asset Management said that "AIM can not wash its hands of responsibility for no-mads [AIM-nominated brokers] taking companies onto AIM that should not be there."
However, Dallas defended AIM's light regulatory touch, saying that the exchange was simply a platform for companies to tell their story. He added that the nominated broker system, whereby a company's nominated broker effectively signs off on the listing document for the firm's AIM IPO, allowed for greater efficiency than takes place on other exchanges, and also that AIM itself licenses and vets brokers who can participate in the scheme. Dallas also noted that the AIM authorities themselves had recently taken regulatory action and censured one such nominated broker.
Source: mergermarket
Value: £75m (Value of Clipper Windpower launch )
Speaking during the Euromoney Renewable Energy Finance Forum in London, Jens Mathiesen, an executive at investment fund Bankinvest Technology, said that "most IPOs in renewable energy are now launched on AIM. This was not the case a few years ago, when most took place on the US exchanges." He added that the general capital markets had now accepted the renewable energy sector. However, Mathiesen underlined that trade sales and other M&A activity remained the most active sector in the energy technology space.
Graham Dallas, the senior international business development manager at the London Stock Exchange (LSE), speaking to this news service on the sidelines of the conference, cited the lack of bureaucracy and regulation associated with an AIM listing as being one of the reasons why renewable energy groups are attracted to the exchange. He noted that 80% of all IPOs (not just energy ones) in western Europe took place on the London Stock Exchange (LSE), and added that 80% of these (65% of all IPOs in western Europe) took place on AIM.
Dallas cited the GBP 75m of capital raised in the AIM IPO of US firm Clipper Windpower earlier this month as a particularly successful recent example, but also mentioned the AIM debuts of Clean Diesel Technologies and Biofuels Corp as other examples of successful AIM green energy IPOS.
However, the exchange is not without its critics. Speaking during questions at the conference, Gianni Opoerto, a private equity principal at energy investment group Sustainable Asset Management said that "AIM can not wash its hands of responsibility for no-mads [AIM-nominated brokers] taking companies onto AIM that should not be there."
However, Dallas defended AIM's light regulatory touch, saying that the exchange was simply a platform for companies to tell their story. He added that the nominated broker system, whereby a company's nominated broker effectively signs off on the listing document for the firm's AIM IPO, allowed for greater efficiency than takes place on other exchanges, and also that AIM itself licenses and vets brokers who can participate in the scheme. Dallas also noted that the AIM authorities themselves had recently taken regulatory action and censured one such nominated broker.
Source: mergermarket
Value: £75m (Value of Clipper Windpower launch )
