VANCOUVER, Nov. 13, 2013 /CNW/ - Lignol Energy Corporation
(TSXV: LEC) ("LEC" or the "Company"), is pleased to announce that,
further to its news release of September 5, 2013, LEC has completed the first
A$2 million tranche of a A$4.07 million loan to Neutral Fuels Parent
Company ("Neutral Fuels") to fund the initial rollout of closed
loop biorefineries in the Asia
Pacific/Middle
East/Africa region
("APMEA") in an agreement with the McDonald's used cooking oil
biodiesel program. Under the arrangement with McDonald's, Neutral
Fuels currently operates two closed loop biorefineries located in
Dubai, United Arab Emirates and
Melbourne, Australia.
Today's funding is structured as a 5 year,
unsecured, non-interest bearing loan to Neutral Fuels. In
connection with the loan, LEC acquired a 20% interest in Neutral
Fuels and a 51% interest in Neutral Fuels (Melbourne) Pty Ltd. ("Neutral Fuels
Melbourne"), which has the exclusive rights to Neutral Fuels
business in Australia and
New Zealand. LEC plans to fund the
remaining A$2.07 million to acquire
an additional 20% interest in Neutral Fuels by the end of
February 2014, thereby increasing its
ownership to 40%.
"We are delighted to have completed the first
tranche of our loan and the acquisition of an interest in Neutral
Fuels, an emerging leader in the production of biodiesel from used
cooking oil", said Ross MacLachlan,
CEO and Chairman of LEC. "This investment is keeping with our
strategy of acquiring interests in businesses which offer
sustainable solutions for the production of environmentally
preferred fuels and have the ability to produce near term revenues
and cash flows."
"This is a significant step for Neutral Fuels
and provides an excellent financial, technical, and geographic
platform for our future expansion. We are looking forward to
working with Lignol in a number of exciting areas" said
Karl W. Feilder, CEO and Chairman of
The Neutral Group.
This investment was funded by LEC accessing an
additional $2,035,000 from the
Company's secured revolving credit facility of up to $12,500,000 with Difference Capital Financial
Inc. This increased the amount drawn under the facility to
$11,785,000.
About Neutral Fuels
Neutral Fuels owns and manages biorefineries that convert used
cooking oil into biodiesel, the modern, sustainable replacement for
fossil diesel. On a lifecycle basis, biodiesel accounts for over
80% reduction in carbon dioxide and its equivalents, the major
contributors to climate change. Neutral Fuels pioneered the closed
loop business model which was developed specifically for McDonald's
use, where used cooking oil is collected from McDonald's
restaurants by the same vehicles that deliver the fresh oil. The
used oil is then backhauled to the Neutral Fuels biorefinery where
it is converted, litre for litre, into biodiesel. This
biodiesel is then pumped back into the delivery fleet in an ongoing
recycling process.
In Dubai, used
cooking oil is collected from more than 100 McDonald's UAE
restaurants each month and their fleet of supply trucks in the UAE
has to date driven more than 2 million kilometres on Neutral Fuels
B100 biodiesel. In Victoria
Australia, the Neutral Fuels Melbourne biorefinery currently
recycles the used cooking oil from more than 150 McDonald's
restaurants.
Neutral Fuels, headquartered in Dubai, UAE, is a member of The Neutral Group,
the international clean-tech organization founded in 2006 to build
sustainability strategies for the logistics, energy and hospitality
industries and to execute significant reductions in energy spent
and CO2 emissions. CEO and founder, Karl W Feilder, won the Asian
Sustainability Leadership Award in September
2012 and was awarded Innovator of the Year in 2011 by LOG
Magazine for his work in carbon savings in the Middle East.
Neutral Fuels' closed loop business model, which
was developed specifically for McDonald's, takes used cooking oil
from its local restaurants and in return provides B100 biodiesel to
fuel its suppliers' delivery fleets. The company has been featured
in print and television media including;
CNN: http://tinyurl.com/Neutral-Fuels-CNN
BBC : http://tinyurl.com/Neutral-Fuels-BBC
Australian TV :
http://tinyurl.com/Neutral-Fuels-Australia
For more information, please visit
www.biodiesel.ae
About Lignol Energy Corporation
("LEC")
Lignol Energy Corporation is an emerging producer of biofuels,
biochemicals and renewable materials from waste. LEC owns 100% of
Lignol Innovations Ltd., 56% of Territory Biofuels Limited, 21% of
Australian Renewable Fuels Limited, 51% of Neutral Fuels Melbourne
and 20% of Neutral Fuels. The Company 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. Further information is
available on the Company's website at www.lignol.ca
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 complete the funding of the second tranche of
A$2,070,000 of a A$4,070,000 loan to Neutral Fuels within the
agreed timeframes and to increase its stake to 40%, the ability of
Neutral Fuels to complete the rollout of closed loop biorefineries
in accordance with its agreed timetable with MacDonald's, LEC's ability to invest in, or
otherwise obtain, equity interests in energy related projects which
have potential synergies with the Company and which have the
potential to generate near term cash flow.
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, LEC's ability to raise additional capital to fund
operations and to support the capital requirements of its
affiliates, the requirements of the potential effect of changes in
government policy relating to the environment and incentives for
renewable fuels, the potential impact of changes in the prices of
feedstock and the market price of liquid fuels including biodiesel,
ethanol and renewable chemicals, the ability of LEC's subsidiaries,
associated and investee company to generate future near term
profits and to pay dividends, and to meet increasing regulatory
requirements, and LEC's ability to divest the ARW ordinary shares
due to modest trading volumes.
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, financial market
conditions which will impact LEC's ability to finance its
operations and to meet future capital and investment requirements,
the demand for the market price of liquid fuels including gasoline,
biodiesel, ethanol, the market price and demand for renewable
chemicals, risks relating to the protection of technology from
infringement and those risk factors which are discussed elsewhere
in documents that LEC files from time to time with securities and
other 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