Helix Wind Poised to Raise up to $25M to Finance Acquisitions and R&D
Helix Wind, the San Diego-based developer of small (and distinctive looking) wind generation unit, is looking to raise as much as $25 million to support its acquisition-driven growth and fund research and development.
The company plans to raise a portion of that money via a second share offering that could raise as much as $15 million. New York boutique investment bank Dominick & Dominick is advising the company. Helix CEO Ian Gardner tells us he expects to go on a road show to pitch the offering to investors in the next two weeks. Stops are planned in New York, Chicago, and San Francisco, as well as some European cities. Helix trades as an over-the-counter stock on the NASDAQ and on the Deutsche Börse in Frankfurt.
Gardner says the company has also applied for two Department of Energy loan guarantees of $5 million each. It expects to hear back from the government in the next month.
Helix’s timing seems good. Last week’s $378 million IPO by battery maker A123 Systems highlighted investor interest for clean tech. Further underscoring this renewed confidence was data released yesterday by GreenTechMedia, showing a third quarter rebound in VC investments in North America and Europe totaling $1.19 billion.
San Diego-based Helix needs fresh capital to finance its multiple acquisition. Earlier this month it acquired Abundant Renewable Energy (ARE), a bankrupt Newberg, Ore. turbine developer for $6.5 million, given certain requirements are met. With that acquisition, Helix added two wind turbines — generating 2.5 kilowatts and 10 kilowatts of electricity each — to its offering. Earlier this month, the company also announced a $3.9 million acquisition of Venco Power, a Germany-based maker of vertical axis small wind turbines, which will boost Helix’s European distribution.
Before launching on his own, Helix CEO Gardner worked at Duke Energy developing IPP’s and at Boston Consulting Group’s energy and utilities practice.
Go Clean Tech! Wind is vital for addressing the energy needs of this planet and so are solar, wave and geo. I’m also watching the developments in the area of increased energy efficiency in existing technologies, because of the huge potential in improving the situation in the very short term.
A holistic approach is what’s needed and this news is a great example of how wind power will be an important part of that approach.