Ceres Power Holdings PLC (LON:CWR) shares rose on Wednesday as the group confirmed that German engineering and technology giant Bosch has increased its stake in the company to around 18% from around 4% following a share subscription, netting the fuel cell firm £38mln.
The AIM-listed group said Bosch acquired the additional stake through a subscription for11.9mln new shares, a 7.7% holding, with the balance coming from the purchase of existing shares.
Both the new shares being issued and the shares being purchased from existing shareholders were effected at a price of 320p per ordinary share, a premium of 29.5% to the 3-month VWAP. In afternoon trading, Ceres shares were 3.5% higher at 359p.
READ: Ceres Power develops zero-emission system to use with hydrogen fuel
The company said the funds raised will "provide sufficient capital for the company to both consolidate its position as a leader in fuel cell systems and also expand its technology into complementary areas including potential solid oxide electrolysis applications."
Ceres hailed the investment as a “significant strategic step forward” in its partnership with Bosch, which began collaborating with the firm in August 2018 to develop fuel-cell stacks for stationary power applications.
The firm added that the increased stake is intended to support potential mass manufacturing of Ceres SteelCell technology for multiple applications in the future.
Ceres chief executive Phil Caldwell commented: “Our successful partnership with some of the world's leading [original equipment manufacturers], including Bosch, has seen us develop fuel cell applications for home, commercial and heavy transportation applications and establish Ceres as one of the leaders in the fuel cell industry.”
“This new investment will allow us to build upon this strong position and grow the business further into new areas which are needed for the energy transition such as electrolysis for hydrogen and synthetic e-fuels and developing higher power applications while also continuing to focus on the commercialisation of our core power systems", he added.
-- Adds share price --