ReVolve Renewable Power, an Irish company developing wind and solar projects in the US and Mexico, is on track to start trading on Toronto next week, after it completes a merger with a Canadian-listed company.
Toronto-listed Philippine Metals (PMI) will execute the reverse takeover of ReVolve by close of business on Friday, completing a deal agreed in principle last summer.
PMI, which has been listed since 2010, has focused over the years on exploring for minerals in the Philippines. However it has failed to identify a sufficient body of commercial grade ore.
The ReVolve deal is the third reverse takeover that PMI has tried to carry out in the past three years to give the company a reason for continuing to be listed.
ReVolve was set up in 2012, initially to focus on renewable energy projects in Mexico, by individuals including its chief executive Steve Dalton, a former lender with Ulster Bank, chairman Roger Norwich, a geologist and seasoned resource companies boardroom operator and Joseph O'Farrell, a director of Union Jack Oil. Mr Dalton will become chief executive of the enlarged company, which will carry the ReVolve name.
Development rights
ReVolve’s business model is to identify renewable projects and bring them through the various stages of planning, authorisation and grid connections – up to the point where they are ready to be constructed.
"ReVolve then adopts an asset monetisation strategy, whereby it looks to sell development rights to its projects to other utilities, independent power producers or institutional investors active in the renewable energy sector," it said in documents filed recently in Canada.
The company has made US$17 million to date from bringing 324 megawatts of projects to this stage and selling them on, according to the filings.
ReVolve has a portfolio of 3.3 GW of projects under active development and a further 1.1GW of greenfield opportunities, it said.
ReVolve raised the equivalent of over €3 million and PMI a further €1.7 million in the second half of last year, ahead of the planned merger.
ReVolve previously raised about €2.5 million between 2012 and 2015 for investment in projects before returning €6.7 million to shareholders by way of a series of share buybacks in 2018.
Existing ReVolve investors will own 81.4 per cent of the Toronto-listed company on completion of the tie-up, led by a vehicle owned by Mr O’Farrell, which will own 14.8 per cent. Mr Norwich will own almost 14 per cent and Mr Dalton close to 6 per cent.
