VH Global Sustainable Energy Opportunities PLC (LSE:GSEO) has set out plans to raise between £150mln and £280mln of new cash to invest in an identified pipeline of projects spanning wind, hydroelectric and carbon capture.
The investment trust has kicked off a placing, open offer, subscription and intermediaries offer at an issue price of 110p per share - a discount to the 114p at which the shares closed overnight.
Investment manager Victory Hill has secured exclusive rights to negotiate for the acquisition of around £280mln of assets, including three operating wind farms in Mexico with capacity of 153MW and valued at £70.8mln; an operational hydro plant in Brazil with capacity of approximately 198MW and valued at £129.2mln; and a £80mln UK combined heat and power project using carbon capture and reuse technology that will have a 31MW capacity once construction is complete.
These purchases would, the manager said, diversify the company's portfolio of assets by geography, technology, investment phase and revenue stream, as well as generating revenue to support the dividend target, enhancing earnings and being accretive to the net asset value.
Increasing the size of the company will also spread operating costs over a larger capital base, which should reduce the ongoing charges ratio, it added, while the larger market cap is also expected to make the £346mln company more attractive to a wider investor base.
Currently, the trust has a portfolio of 24 assets, comprising a variety of technologies across Australia, Brazil, the UK and the USA and predominantly on long-term inflation-linked contracts.
At a general meeting later this month the directors are seeking shareholder backing authority to issue up to 500mln new shares, or 160% of the company's issued share capital, within a year on a non-pre-emptive basis.