Blue Sphere Completes Acquisition of Multiple Biogas Facilities in Italy
Acquires Operating Facilities With Financial Guarantees
CHARLOTTE, NC--(Marketwired - Dec 17, 2015) - Blue Sphere Corp. (OTCQB: BLSP) (the "Company" or "Blue Sphere"), a clean energy company that develops, manages and owns waste-to-energy projects, announced today that on December 14, 2015 the Company, through its wholly-owned subsidiaries, has completed the acquisition of four operating biogas facilities in Italy, a major milestone in the Company's history.
Blue Sphere has acquired 100% of the stock of Agricerere, S.R.L., Agrielektra, S.r.L., Agrisorse, S.r.L. and Gefa, S.r.L. Individually, each fully operational facility generates one megawatt of electricity per hour which is sold to Gestore del Servizi Energetici GSE, S.p.A., a state owned company that promotes and supports renewable energy sources in Italy, under a power purchase agreement (PPA) that runs through December 31, 2027.
The four biogas facilities combined are expected to generate approximately EUR 8,400,000 (Euros) or the equivalent of approximately $9,240,000 (U.S. Dollars) in annual revenue. The four biogas facilities combined will generate a minimum of EUR 3,760,000 (Euros) or the equivalent of approximately $4,136,000 (U.S. Dollars) in annual EBITDA. The annual EBITDA of each biogas facility is guaranteed by Austep, S.p.A, our operating partner and a global leader in waste to energy technology and management. The Austep, S.p.A financial guarantee is further backed by an insurance policy underwritten and issued by a leading insurance provider. Pursuant to its agreements with Austep, S.p.A., Blue Sphere expects to receive the annual guaranteed EBITDA, and Austep, S.p.A. will receive any revenues in excess of the guaranteed EBITDA.
The enterprise value of these four facilities as stated by Innovatec, S.p.A, is approximately EUR 24,000,000 (Euros) or the equivalent of approximately $26,400,000 (U.S. Dollars).
The Company paid EUR 5,200,000 (Euros) or the equivalent of approximately $5,720,000 (U.S. Dollars), plus closing costs to acquire all four biogas facilities including the assumption of certain debt associated with the acquisition of each facility. Fifty percent of the cash component of the purchase price plus closing costs was paid at closing, with the balance due three years from the closing date. Blue Sphere was provided with EUR 2,900,000 (Euros) or the equivalent of approximately $3,190,000 of capital from Helios Energy Investments to complete these acquisitions.
These acquisitions represent only four transactions of a pipeline of twenty-five biogas facilities that the Company is evaluating for acquisition in Italy alone. With these transactions Blue Sphere has developed a network of brokers, consultants, legal and accounting experts that will allow for further expansion into the European marketplace
"We are very excited to complete these acquisitions as they represent major milestones and proof of concept in the execution of our model of acquiring, building and operating waste to energy projects around the world. We are very pleased to announce that with the completion of these transactions, we have completed 100% of the Company's goals for 2015," said Shlomi Palas, the Company's CEO.
For more detailed information, please refer to the Company's Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on December 17, 2015.
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