Invinity Energy Systems plc, a leading global manufacturer of utility-grade energy storage, is pleased to announce its intention to raise £28 million by way of a conditional subscription for new Ordinary Shares of €0.01 each ("Ordinary Shares") (the "Subscription") and a minimum of £22 million, by way of a conditional placing (the "Placing"), both at an issue price of 23 pence per new Ordinary Share (the "Issue Price").
The Placing will be conducted by way of an accelerated bookbuild ("ABB"), which will be launched immediately following this Announcement in accordance with the terms and conditions set out in Appendix II to this Announcement. Subject to demand from potential investors to participate in the Placing, the Directors have reserved flexibility to increase the size of the Placing.
In addition, the Company is also offering all Qualifying Shareholders ("Qualifying Shareholders") the opportunity to participate in an open offer (the "Open Offer", together with the Placing and the Subscription, the "Fundraising") at the Issue Price. The Open Offer will raise up to £6.6 million, pursuant to which up to 28,660,096 new Ordinary Shares (the "Open Offer Shares") will be offered to existing shareholders at the Issue Price on the basis of:
3 Open Offer Shares for every 20 Ordinary Shares held
The Open Offer is in addition to and separate from the funds raised pursuant to the Placing and the Subscription. The Fundraising is not being underwritten. The Issue Price represents a discount of 5 per cent. to the 15-day volume weighted average price to 30 April 2024 of 24.1 pence per Ordinary Share.
Highlights
· Strategic investments of £25m by the UK Infrastructure Bank (the British state-owned policy bank) and £3m by Korean Investment Partners (an affiliate of Korea Investment Holdings, a leading financial conglomerate in the Republic of Korea) acting through an investment fund
· Placing with UK institutional investors to raise a minimum of £22m via an accelerated bookbuild and Open Offer to all Qualifying Shareholders to raise a maximum of £6.6m
· Gross proceeds of the Fundraising to be used to:
o Provide the working capital to ensure Invinity is fully funded to net cash generation;
o Invest in Long Duration Energy Storage ("LDES") by taking a minority ownership stake in UK LDES projects. The investment is expected to facilitate the sale of Invinity batteries to a number of large UK LDES projects, generating significant revenues to Invinity and positioning Invinity as a leader within the space;
o Accelerate manufacturing and deployment of the Company's next-generation Vanadium Flow Battery ("VFB") code-named Mistral;
o Invest in the Company's UK manufacturing facilities in Scotland; and
o Strengthen Invinity's balance sheet to unlock large-scale commercial orders.
Larry Zulch, Chief Executive Officer at Invinity said:
"We believe that long duration energy storage has an essential role to play in the global transition to a sustainable electricity system. This investment provides Invinity with the opportunity to scale up to help meet the significant global demand for batteries with the characteristics that make our vanadium flow battery unique: high performance, long asset life, compelling total ownership economics, and no propensity to catch fire.
"We are grateful for the support of the UK Infrastructure Bank as we demonstrate the viability of LDES in the UK with battery systems produced in the UK. We're also grateful for the support of existing investors who enabled us to advance Mistral, our next-generation battery, to near completion, and for the support of new investors, such as Korea Investment Partners, who have embraced our vision of profitably meeting global demand for LDES."
John Flint, CEO at UK Infrastructure Bank said:
"Electricity storage technologies have a crucial role to play in balancing the energy system in response to volatility in supply and demand as the UK transitions to net zero. However, the market of investors in more nascent longer-duration technologies like vanadium flow has developed more slowly than for lithium-ion batteries. Our cornerstone investment has helped Invinity to mobilise the additional private investment needed to scale their manufacturing, supporting the development of a promising new longer-duration technology."
