Laidlaw Energy Group, Inc.(fka LLEG)

[veritas-twj]

Institutional Investor newspaper article on Laidlaw...

IMO, any of these possible developments would be great news for shareholders as the Company would then no longer need to continually issue new stock into the market as is now currently the case... Just my personal opinion as a significant and long term shareholder...

Tom

Patience.

----------------------------------------------------------------
Biomass Developer To Raise Funds From Listing
- 07/18/2008

New York biomass developer Laidlaw Energy Group is looking to raise about $100 million in expansion capital via a merger or initial public offering within the coming year. Michael Bartoszek, ceo and founder, says the proceeds would be for project development and to acquire assets used for retooling plants. Its core strategy is to convert mothballed pulp and paper facilities to produce biomass feedstock that can fuel generation inside the fence.

Laidlaw is also in discussions to merge with an undisclosed company listed on the London Stock Exchange's AIM. If the transaction closes, the combined entity would continue to trade on that exchange. The IPO is being explored in case the merger does not pan out. "This sector of the market is really, really strong right now," says Bartoszek, adding, "The AIM has been extremely receptive to alternative energy."

A concurrent listing on the NASDAQ is also an option. "Dual listings offer the advantage of trading in more than one jurisdiction to appeal to a more diverse group of shareholders." Until now, Laidlaw has been funded by investors, including Bermuda-based holding company Basic Energy.

The company has also talked to Credit Suisse and Morgan Stanley about forming a special purpose acquisition company that would then acquire Laidlaw's projects, giving it the capital to buy more sites. "We feel the economics aren't there for greenfield. Because we can acquire these assets at or near liquidation value, the significantly lower capital cost of our projects allow for better returns," says Bartoszek about acquiring mothballed facilities. Morgan Stanley, CS and Citigroup, a relationship bank, are possible underwriters for an IPO, he adds. "It comes down to what the best deal is."

Bartoszek founded Laidlaw in 1999 to focus on distribution in the generation sector. It purchased a gas cogen in Cattaraugus Co., N.Y., with a view to converting it to run on biomass and then sold the facility to investment management firm John Nuveen Co. when the plant's gas contract expired. It later repurchased the plant alongside Greystone and bought out the private equity firm in 2004 with the aim of repowering the unit as a 7 MW biomass plant. --Katie Hale