VANCOUVER, March 18, 2013 /CNW/ - Lignol Energy Corporation
(TSXV: LEC) ("LEC" or "the Company"), a leading technology company
in the advanced biofuels and renewable chemicals sector, today
announced that it has invested approximately A$2.5 million to acquire approximately 356
million shares of Australian Renewable Fuels Limited (ASX: ARW)
("ARW") as a part of ARW's underwritten rights issue of
approximately A$8 million. This
investment was funded, in part, from LEC's recently announced line
of credit with one of the Company's major shareholders, Difference
Capital Funding Inc. This investment together with the
approximately 179 million shares acquired by LEC as a part of ARW's
share placement, announced on February 12,
2013, and shares previously acquired by LEC has resulted in
a total ownership of approximately 898 million shares, representing
21.4% of ARW.
"We are pleased to have participated in the
private placement, the shareholder entitlement offer, and to have
supported ARW through the related underwriting to become one of
ARW's largest shareholders." said Ross
MacLachlan, Chairman and CEO. "As a result of our recent
investments, LEC is now well positioned in the Australian biodiesel
industry. These investments are further evidence of our strategy of
acquiring interests in companies which have synergy with our
company and have the potential to generate near term cash
flow."
About Lignol Energy Corporation
("LEC")
LEC (TSXV: LEC) owns 100% of the issued and
voting shares of Lignol Innovations Ltd. ("LIL") and has interests
in Australian Renewable Fuels Limited (ASX: ARW) ("ARW") as well as
Territory Biofuels Limited ("TBF"). LEC also intends to invest in,
or otherwise obtain, equity interests in energy related projects
which have synergies with the Company and have the potential to
generate near term cash flow.
LIL is a leading technology company in the
advanced biofuels and renewable chemicals sector undertaking the
development of biorefining technologies for the production of
advanced biofuels, including fuel-grade ethanol, and other
renewable chemicals from non-food cellulosic biomass feedstocks.
LIL's modified solvent based pre-treatment technology facilitates
the rapid, high-yield conversion of cellulose to ethanol and the
production of value-added biochemical co-products, including high
purity HP-LTM lignin. HP-LTM lignin
represents a new class of high purity lignin extractives (and their
subsequent derivatives) which can be engineered to meet the
chemical properties and functional requirements of a range of
industrial applications that until now has not been possible with
traditional lignin by-products generated from other processes. LIL
is executing on its development plan through strategic partnerships
to further develop and integrate its core technologies on a
commercial scale. For more information please visit LEC's website
at www.lignol.ca.
ARW is the largest biodiesel producer in
Australia owning three plants with
a total nameplate capacity of 150 million litres per annum. ARW's
three plants were built at an aggregate cost of over A$100 million. More information on ARW can be
found on their website at www.arfuels.com.au.
TBF owns a large scale biorefining facility
located in Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia, which includes a Lurgi designed
biodiesel plant and the only glycerine refinery in Australia. The facility was commissioned
in 2008 at a cost of A$80 million,
along with 38 million litres of related tankage, now leased by
TBF. The biodiesel plant is the largest in Australia with a maximum capacity of 150
million litres per year. The plant was shut down in 2009 and
TBF is currently in the process of planning the restart of the
facility.
Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its
Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the
policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for
the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
Caution concerning forward-looking
statements:
Certain statements contained in this document
may constitute forward-looking information within the meaning of
applicable securities laws. Such forward-looking statements or
information include, without limitation, statements or information
about LEC's ability to invest in, or otherwise obtain, equity
interests in energy related projects which have synergies with the
Company and which have the potential to generate near term cash
flow, the outcome of factors influencing the future conversion of
LEC's Notes into an equity position for LEC of between 20% to 40%
in TBF depending on a range of criteria related to the Darwin
facility, TBF's ability to restart and profitably operate its 150
million litres per year biodiesel plant and glycerine refinery,
TBF's ability to work with strong commercial partnerships and to
become a major regional player in the biodiesel market in the
Pacific Rim, TBF's ability to
integrate new pretreatment technologies and catalysts to facilitate
the processing of a broad range of low cost feedstocks, the
successful outcome of projects undertaken under the Technology
Collaboration between LEC and TBF, the future exercise of
Difference Capital Funding Inc.'s warrants, LEC's ability to
continue as a going concern and to raise additional financing to
fund the operations of LEC and LIL, the development status of LIL's
fully integrated pilot scale biorefinery in Burnaby, British Columbia, the planning and
development of a commercial plant, LIL's ability to complete
project deliverables which are funded in part by government
agencies, obtaining strategic partnership investments and
government funding for initial commercial projects. Often, but not
always, forward looking statements or information can be identified
by the use of words such as "plans", "expects" or "does not
expect", "is expected", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates",
"forecasts", "intends", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate", or
"believes" or variations of such words and phrases or words and
phrases that state or indicate that certain actions, events or
results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will" be taken, occur
or be achieved.
Such statements or information reflect LEC's
current views with respect to future events and are subject to
certain risks, uncertainties and assumptions including, without
limitation, our ability to establish the validity of Lignol's
technology at the fully integrated biorefinery pilot plant scale,
LIL's ability to satisfy the conditions of existing government
grants and to obtain new additional grants, our ability to continue
to finance our operations and to finance and complete the
development of a commercial project, LIL's ability to work with
Novozymes to produce cellulosic ethanol at production costs
competitive with gasoline and corn ethanol, LIL's ability to
develop products and to obtain off-take agreements, LIL's ability
to obtain requisite regulatory approvals and its ability to enter
into agreements with strategic partners on terms acceptable to us,
the inability of LEC to influence the strategy, operations and
financial performance of ARW, the reliance on publically available
information of ARW in the Company's evaluation of its acquisition
of shares in ARW, the potential inability to divest the ARW
ordinary shares due to modest trading volumes, the cost of any
future ARW capital investment, the fluctuation of biodiesel and
feedstock prices on ARW, the effect on ARW of changes in government
policy relating to the environment, and incentives for renewable
fuels, and the ability of ARW to generate short term cash flow and
pay dividends. Many factors could cause LEC's actual results,
performance or achievements to be materially different from any
future results, performance or achievements that may be expressed
or implied by such forward-looking statements or information,
including among other things, the technological challenges that
remain to be surpassed in obtaining the necessary operating data
from LIL's fully integrated biorefinery pilot plant that is
required prior to completing the next scale-up of the technology,
financial market conditions which will impact our ability to
finance our operations and to finance the construction and
operation of a commercial plant, the price of gasoline and demand
for ethanol, the market pricing and demand for renewable chemicals,
risks relating to the protection of LIL's core technology from
infringement and those risk factors which are discussed elsewhere
in documents that LEC files from time to time with securities
regulatory authorities. Should one or more of these risks or
uncertainties materialize, or should assumptions underlying the
forward-looking statements or information prove incorrect, actual
results may vary materially from those described herein as intended
planned, anticipated, believed, estimated or expected. Except as
required by law, the Company expressly disclaims any intention or
obligation to update or revise any forward looking statements and
information whether as a result of new information, future events
or otherwise. All written and oral forward-looking statements and
information attributable to us or persons acting on our behalf are
expressly qualified in their entirety by the foregoing cautionary
statements.
SOURCE Lignol Energy Corporation