ADLINGTON, England, May 27 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ -- The Fairport Engineering Group (FEG) today announces a strategic investment by affiliates of ArcLight Capital Partners, LLC (ArcLight) in two of its group subsidiaries Orchid Environmental Limited (Orchid) and Fairport Engineering Limited (FEL). Under the terms of the transaction, ArcLight will become a significant shareholder of Orchid and FEL and will support both entities through additional equity capital investment. Orchid and FEL will be owned by Orchid Bioenergy Group Limited, a new holding company organized to facilitate the growth and development of Orchid's and FEL's businesses under the new structure. Orchid and FEL will continue to be led by their existing senior management. Other FEG group companies are unaffected by the ArcLight transaction.
Orchid uses proprietary technologies developed by the company to process municipal and commercial waste to produce both a refined biofuel product suitable for a variety of clean waste to energy applications and various recyclable materials. Orchid's technology was developed by FEG to address both the significant near-term demand for cost-effective waste management solutions that reduce landfill use and the demand for environmentally responsible sources of electricity production not reliant on fossil fuels. In April 2008 Orchid commissioned a full-scale commercial waste processing plant located in Huyton, designed and built by FEL for Defra and the Merseyside Waste Disposal Authority. The Huyton facility is in full commercial operation and has a design processing capacity of 80,000 tons per year. FEL is a long-established, full-service project engineering, design and management company with expertise throughout the materials handling industries. Its recent activity includes large scale projects for Tarmac, Cemex, Castle Cement, Imerys, Lafarge, MBA Plastics, Dangote Sugar.
Tony Lees, chairman of FEG, stated, "Fairport has invested heavily in the development of the Orchid technology to bring it to full commercial application. We are now poised for substantial growth and are delighted to have secured the financial backing of a highly knowledgeable investor with broad expertise in our business and the biomass and waste to energy sectors generally. This transaction gives Orchid and FEL the financial resources to fully exploit the market potential of their process, technical and commercial capabilities for the benefit of their customers, employees and stakeholders."
Dan Revers, managing partner of ArcLight, commented, "Orchid approaches the clean waste to energy market from the foundation of its vast experience in the materials handling and processing technologies that are core to success in this industry. Its strategy and capabilities address a critical market need and will complement ArcLight's other activities in renewable generation."
About ArcLight:
ArcLight is one of the world's leading energy investment firms with more than $6.8 billion under management. ArcLight's investment team has extensive energy investing experience, industry relationships, and asset level knowledge. ArcLight is headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts with offices in New York City, London and Luxembourg. More information about ArcLight can be found at http://www.arclightcapital.com .
