Frk Eur Igc Etf Regulatory News (EURO)

30 May 2007 08:00

EuroTrust A/S30 May 2007 Press release30 May 2007 EuroTrust A/S Admission to AIM EuroTrust A/S ("EuroTrust" or "the Company"), the wind energy and property development company, announces that the Company's shares have today been admitted to trading on AIM. West Hill Corporate Finance Ltd is acting as Financial Adviser and CenkosSecurities plc is acting as Nominated Adviser and Broker to the Company. Divisional information •Renewable energy division (long-term portfolio ownership) - 79MW in operation - 93MW under construction - 366MW in various stages of development - 1,000MW target across Europe within next 3-5 years •Property division - Planned development of 12,000 residential properties (primarily Denmark and Norway) - Total estimated sales value of EUR 4 billion (by reference to current market prices) The Company considers its key strengths are: •Unique business with an efficient capital structure •Revenues from the property division used to fund equity investmentin wind farm projects •Well positioned in the strong and attractive Danish and Norwegianproperty markets and the European wind energy market •Both divisions have highly developed pipelines and the outlook forgrowth is positive •Experienced management team with considerable expertise in propertydevelopment and wind farm development The business EuroTrust is one of the largest Danish property development companies, whichover recent years has developed a distinct business operation specialising inthe development of wind energy farms in Europe. Its strategy is to use profitsfrom the property development to invest in wind energy production. This providesan extremely efficient capital structure, flexibility and de-risks the business. The Company was listed on NASDAQ in 1997 but is moving to AIM, given theEuropean focus of its Shareholder base and business opportunities. In addition,the Directors expect the Company to benefit from a reduction in the costs ofbeing a public company on AIM as compared to NASDAQ as well as having theopportunity to access capital in the European markets when appropriate. Renewable energy EuroTrust's stated objective is to become one of Europe's leading renewableenergy companies by enlarging its portfolio of energy investments to a capacityof 1,000MW in the next 3 to 5 years EuroTrust, through its subsidiaries and joint ventures, currently owns and hasin operation wind farms with a total capacity of 79MW. In Germany, the Companyhas a share in 73 wind turbines in 18 different locations and in Italy, theCompany has a share in seven wind turbines in one location. Construction has commenced of a 51MW wind farm in Eastern Pomerania in Polandwhich is expected to be commissioned in late 2007 or early 2008 and it isexpected to be one of the largest wind farms in operation in Poland when opened. In March 2007, EuroTrust commenced construction on a 41MW wind farm in Andalusiain Spain, which is expected to be commissioned around December 2007.Furthermore, EuroTrust expects to acquire an additional 22MW in wind farmcapacity in Germany during the remainder of 2007. An additional 344MW of wind farm capacity is currently being developed inSouthern, Central and Eastern Europe. Property The Company has to date focused on residential and vacation projects via itsthree wholly owned subsidiaries, Aktiv Gruppen, AGH Norge and Real Ejendomme.The majority of these projects are in Denmark, where EuroTrust is a substantialdeveloper of real estate for resale, but the Company is also involved insignificant developments in Norway and one further development in Austria. The Directors believe that the Company has accumulated a strong portfolio ofproperty development projects for construction over the next 10 to 15 years. The Company's strategy is for development projects to be financed using aslittle of the Company's equity capital contribution as possible. To this end,property projects are financed in separate SPVs with a commercial bank typicallyproviding the finance for completion of the project. Of the current portfolio of projects, 46 have fewer than 250 dwellings perproject and these are expected to be completed over the next four years. Inaggregate, these small and medium sized projects comprise approximately 4,000dwellings and have, the Directors believe, an anticipated total market value byreference to current market prices of up to EUR 1 billion. In addition, theCompany is planning four larger urban area development projects which compriseup to 8,000 dwellings and represent, the Directors believe, a total anticipatedmarket value by reference to current market prices of up to EUR 3 billion. Thelarger urban area development projects are scheduled to be constructed in stagesover the next 10 to 15 years with part of the first project's dwellings expectedto be offered for sale in June 2007. Bo Kristensen, CEO of EuroTrust, commented: "The global demand for clean energy is growing rapidly; our listing on AIM coupled with our unique business model will allow us to take full advantage of this demand. "AIM has developed a particular strength in the growing renewable energy sector and is the most appropriate market for our shares." Admission details €38,258,260 Ordinary Shares in issue at Admission •Market capitalisation of €448 million (based on the closing price on NASDAQ of US$15.75 on 22 May and a US$:EUR exchange rate of 0.743 as at 22 May 2007) •The Company's mnemonic is EURO •Simultaneous delisting from NASDAQ and admission to AIM •Only Danish AIM listed company --ENDS-- For further information, please contact: Haggie Financial 00 44 (0)20 7417 8989Peter Rigby/Alexandra Parry West Hill Corporate Finance 00 44 (0)20 7464 8427Alan Richards/ Edward Williams Cenkos Securities 00 44 (0)20 7397 8926Stephen Keys Appendix Directors Erik Damgaard - Non-Executive Chairman (Age: 46) Mr. Damgaard was elected to the Board of Directors in December 2005. From 2002to 2004 Mr. Damgaard was a software architect for Microsoft Corporation. Priorto 2002 Mr. Damgaard was the Technology Officer of Navision A/S, a company whichhe helped found. In 2002, Navision A/S was sold to Microsoft. Bo Kristensen - Chief Executive Officer (Age: 47) Mr. Kristensen was elected to the Board of Directors in May 2007. Mr. Kristensenhas been the Chief Executive Officer of the Company since May 2006. He has beenaffiliated as partner and responsible for financial management in the subsidiaryAktiv Gruppen since 2001. Mr. Kristensen is also a director of several of theCompany's wholly owned subsidiaries. Mr. Kristensen has a Graduate Diploma inEconomics (Management Accounting) and Higher Commercial Examination. Mr.Kristensen is highly experienced in both renewable energy and propertydevelopment. Peter Juul - Chief Operating Officer (Age: 44) Mr. Juul was elected to the Board of Directors in December 2005. Mr. Juul hasbeen the Chief Operating Officer of EuroTrust since 1 June 2006 and he has beenthe Chief Executive Officer of Aktiv Gruppen Holding A/S since 14 November 2005.He was the Chairman of the board of Aktiv Gruppen from 1 September 2002 to 14November 2005. Prior to his becoming Chief Executive Officer of Aktiv Gruppen,Mr. Juul was a partner in the law firm of Interlex Advokater located in Arhus,Denmark. Kim Simonsen - Chief Financial Officer (Age: 37) Mr. Simonsen was elected to the Board of Directors in May 2007 having beenappointed Chief Financial Officer of EuroTrust on 1 April 2007, having worked asDirector of Finance of Aktiv Gruppen from July 2006. He had previously workedfor 14 years in a number of finance roles at Difko A/S, ultimately acting asDirector of Finance between 1998 and 2006. Mr. Simonsen has a Bachelor ofScience in Economics and Business administration and a Graduate diploma inBusiness Administration - Financial and Accounting Management. John J. Stuart, Jr. - Non-Executive Director (Age: 67) Mr. Stuart was elected to the Board of Directors in May 1998. Since January 1983Mr. Stuart has been employed by Irvine Sensors Corporation ("ISC"), Costa Mesa,California USA, a developer of proprietary technologies to produce compactpackages of solid state microcircuitry. He currently serves as ISC's Senior VicePresident and Chief Financial Officer, positions he has held since November 1998and July 1985, respectively. Between July 1985 and February 1995, he also heldthe position of ISC's treasurer and was reappointed to this position in November1998. Mr. Stuart holds a degree in Industrial Management from the MassachusettsInstitute of Technology. Christian Rovsing - Non-Executive Director (Age: 70) Mr. Rovsing was elected to the Board of Directors in May 2006. Mr. Rovsing was amember of the European Parliament from 1989 until 2004. He is currentlypresident or a board member of a number of companies active mainly in the areasof space, management and telecommunications. Mr. Rovsing has a M.Sc.(electronics) from the Technical University of Denmark. Jan Berger - Non-Executive Director (Age: 63) Mr. Berger was elected to the Board of Directors in May 2003. Mr. Berger hasbeen a management consultant since 1998. He has more than 24 years of experiencein the Information Technology (IT) industry and has held various top managementpositions with leading IT companies. In addition, Mr. Berger has served as aboard member at several companies including chairman of the board of SkrivervikData, a SUN Microsystems distributor in Norway. Mr. Berger has degree inBusiness Economics and Administration with an emphasis on Sales and Marketing. Brian Birkenhead - Non-Executive Director (Age: 66) Mr. Birkenhead was elected to the Board of Directors in May 2007. Mr. Birkenheadis an experienced non-executive director following an executive career infinance, inter alia, with international energy businesses. Having qualified asan accountant, Mr. Birkenhead worked in a variety of financial roles atcompanies including Royal Dutch/Shell Group (where he was Finance Director ofShell UK Oil), Johnson Matthey (where he was Executive Director, Finance) andNational Power (where he was Group Finance Director between 1989 and 1996). Hewas Chairman of The Hundred Group of Finance Directors. Mr. Birkenhead has actedas Chairman or non-executive director of a number of organisations, including DeLa Rue plc (non-executive director, 1994-2000), BT Pension Scheme (Trustee,1998-2006), and is currently a non-executive director of three companies listedon the London Stock Exchange: Vega Group, API Group and Caffyns. He alsocontinues to act as a consultant to several international organisations,including Accenture, KPMG and Deloitte & Touche. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange