Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Technology Stocks : Vanteck (vrb-cdnx, vttcf) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: gg cox who wrote (152)	9/26/2004 11:49:51 PM
From: gg cox	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 413

Germans sell £1bn UK firm for a song By Michael Harrison Business Editor 25 September 2004 A British company once valued at £1bn and hailed as a world-beater in the field of energy storage was sold yesterday for just £722,000. RWE, the giant German utility, announced that it had disposed of Regenesys, the developer of a pioneering technology which allows power to be stored in "electricity warehouses", to the Canadian company VRB Power Systems for just $1.3m. Regenesys was formerly part of the UK electricity company Innogy, which RWE bought three years ago in a £5.4bn deal. The huge purchase price was due, in part, to the inflated valuation put on Regenesys by stock market analysts and Innogy itself. Innogy had been planning to float Regenesys, with analysts forecasting a price tag of anywhere between £500m and £1bn, until it was taken over by RWE. A year after the takeover, Innogy's new German owner decided to stop funding the development of Regenesys in order to concentrate instead on its core energy generation and supply businesses and renewable energy. RWE said it had sold the physical assets and inventory of Regenesys to the Canadians but would retain an interest in the business through a licensing deal with VRB which would entitle it to royalties on future sales. As part of the deal, RWE has also agreed to pay $2.8m for a stake in VRB. David Threlfall, the former managing director of Regenesys, said VRB had the "skill set" to take the technology forward and make a success out of it. He added that the deal would free up resources to invest in RWE's core activities in the UK. Under the npower brand, it has 6.3 million customers and also operates a large number of power stations. In addition, it has a growing wind power business, making it the UK's market leader in renewable energy. 25 September 2004 23:06 news.independent.co.uk