A consortium including South African vanadium producer Bushveld Minerals Ltd (LON:BMN) has acquired an additional 65.1% stake in Enerox GmbH, thus increasing to 90% its total holding in the Austrian producer of vanadium redox flow batteries (VRFB), Renewablesnow.com reports.
In December 2019, Bushveld announced the acquisition of a 24.9% stake in Enerox by the consortium led by its 84%-owned subsidiary Bushveld Energy. Today the company said the original consortium will transfer its stake to the newly-formed Enerox Holdings Limited (EHL), adding it to the newly-acquired shares.
Under a sales and purchase agreement signed on 31 July, EHL, which has already invested EUR 2.6 million (USD 3.05m) into the Austrian company, will pay a nominal amount for the new shares but will provide a secured shareholder loan facility of EUR 3.7 million to Enerox.
The loan facility, secured on certain company assets, will provide Enerox with working capital and funds for capital expenditure, allowing the company to achieve sustainable commercial production.
Bushveld first announced its intention to acquire Enerox from CellCube Energy Storage Systems Inc in November 2019. The Canadian company will keep a 10% share in the target.
The deal is part of Bushveld Energy’s strategy of establishing a VRFB investment platform to lead investments in VRFB original equipment manufacturers with attractive upside potential. As part of the strategy, it will hold a minority stake in EHL and is looking for third-party investors to assume its funding responsibilities under the latest agreement.
If EHL does not provide EUR 3.7 million by December 31, 2021, CellCube will have the right to buy back for a nominal value such proportion of 39% of Enerox’s share capital as needed to cover the shortfall in funding.
(EUR 1.0 = USD 1.173)
