Cobbetts advises on new AIM listing

THE Birmingham office of law firm Cobbetts has advised nominated adviser Strand Hanson and broker Mirabaud Securities on the admission of Indian wind energy company Caparo Energy Ltd to the Alternative Investment Market (AIM).

The listing sees the placement of new shares worth £50.2m from institutional investors.

Caparo Energy, which had a market capitalisation of £188.2m at admission, has issued 43,636,000 ordinary shares at 115p per share.

Based in India, Caparo Energy plans to generate predictable, long-term cash flow by building a portfolio of wind power generating assets in India. The company is targeting 5,000mw of installed capacity, which will make it one of the county’s leading independent power producers.

Corporate partner, Charles Bond, led the public markets team for Cobbetts, supported by Kate Da Silva.

Mr Bond said: “The Indian alternative energy market is ripe for development given that the country faces a significant energy shortage with demand far outstripping supply. In addition, the Indian government has put in place both fiscal and policy-driven incentives to fast track sector growth.

“Taking into account the size of the company, and its strengthened financial position following admission, Caparo is well positioned to become one of the largest alternative energy providers in the growing Indian market.

“There certainly seems to be renewed optimism surrounding AIM at the moment and this latest admission, one of the largest of the year to date, represents further interest in the overseas markets. 16 companies listed on AIM in Q3 2010, compared with just two in Q2, and our pipeline suggests that there will be further admissions in Q4.”