LATHAM, NY, January 6, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) – Plug Power Inc. (NASDAQ: PLUG), a leading provider of hydrogen fuel cells and power solutions that enable electronic mobility, and SK Group, one of South Korea’s leading business groups, announced today that the companies intend to form a strategic partnership for to accelerate hydrogen as an alternative energy source in Asian markets. Through this partnership, Plug Power and SK Group intend to supply hydrogen fuel cell systems, hydrogen filling stations and electrolysers to the Korean and largest markets in Asia. Together with this partnership, the companies have also reached a final agreement for SK Group to make a $ 1.5 billion strategic investment in Plug Power and announce a plan to form a joint venture in South Korea to support the rapid growth of the Asian market. Combining the significant presence of SK Group and its leadership in the Asian energy industry and its strategic direction of transforming the portfolio into green through hydrogen economy with Plug Power management in hydrogen fuel cell systems, filling stations and green hydrogen generation is a strong team to accelerate the growth of hydrogen economy in Asian markets.
In January 2019, the South Korean government announced the Hydrogen Roadmap to 2040, with ambitious targets, including: more than 5MM tons of hydrogen per year, more than 6MM EVs with fuel cells, 1,200 filling stations and 15 GW of fuel cell electricity and the cumulative economic value of its hydrogen economy is expected to reach ~ $ 40 billion by 2040. Plug Power has proven its ability to expand a hydrogen business in North America as a global leader in hydrogen economy. The opportunity to partner with SK presents an attractive and timely opportunity to establish a foothold in this market with one of South Korea’s top industrial conglomerates,
“The SK Group has an established strategy for building the hydrogen economy in South Korea and beyond,” said Andy Marsh, CEO of Plug Power. “The current relationship with SK Group offers immediate strategic benefits to Plug Power to accelerate its expansion into Asian markets – and is expected to lead to a formal joint venture (JV) by 2022. Due to the complementary strengths of this partnership, we expect that economic growth and the generation of significant income from the joint venture, which are incremental compared to our 2024 plan ”.
“Plug Power is a leading player in the hydrogen industry with decades of experience and a distinguished business model,” said Hyeongwook Choo, head of the Hydrogen Business Development Center at SK Holdings and president and CEO of SK E&S, a company leader in the field of clean energy, involved in the production of renewable energy. power companies, LNG and power plants around the world and a subsidiary of SK Holdings. “This partnership between Plug Power and SK will bring significant and solid opportunities in the hydrogen industry, creating value for society. SK Group is concentrating and actively investing in the ESG sector, and Plug Power would be one of our splendid tracks in this strategy. “
This investment represents the largest clean energy PIPE in the US in the last 20 years (based on the PrivateRaise PIPE database for closed transactions and includes common stock, preferred stock, preferable convertible stock and convertible debt). Additional investment details include:
Terms
Under the terms of the investment, a US subsidiary of SK Group will make a $ 1.5 billion investment in Plug Power by acquiring approximately 51.4 million common shares at a price of $ 29,2893 per share, VWAP of 30 days starting January 5thof, 2021 with a reduction of zero percent. The investment is expected to represent a 9.9% pro forma stake in Plug Power.
Timing
The investment transaction is subject to normal closing conditions and regulatory approvals and is expected to close in the first quarter of 2021.
councilors
Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC serves as financial advisor, and Goodwin Procter LLP acts as legal counsel for Plug Power.
About plug power
Plug Power builds hydrogen economy as the leading provider of complete turnkey hydrogen fuel cell solutions. The company’s innovative technology powers hydrogen fuel cell electric motors amid a continuous paradigm shift in the energy, power and transportation industries to address climate change and energy security, while meeting sustainability goals. Plug Power has created the first commercially viable market for hydrogen fuel cell technology. As a result, the company has deployed more than 40,000 fuel cell systems for e-mobility, more than anyone else in the world, and has become the largest buyer of liquid hydrogen after building and operating a hydrogen highway in all of North America. Plug Power offers end customers a significant value proposition, including significant environmental benefits, efficiency gains, fast power and lower operating costs. Plug Power’s vertically integrated GenKey solution connects all the critical elements of energy, fuel and provides services to customers such as Amazon, BMW, The Southern Company, Carrefour and Walmart. The company is now leveraging its know-how, modular product architecture and key customers to expand rapidly into other key markets, including zero-emission road vehicles, robotics and data centers. Learn more at www.plugpower.com.
Safe harbor statement
This communication contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, which involves significant risks and uncertainties regarding Plug Power Inc. (“PLUG”), including, but not limited to, statements regarding PLUG expectations regarding planned planning. association with SK, including when and if the joint venture will take place, the scope and terms of the joint venture and the potential increase and revenue related to the planned joint venture, expansion into Asian markets and the expected timing of the closing of the investment transaction. You are cautioned that such statements should not be read as a guarantee of future performance or results and will not necessarily be an accurate indication of when, or by which, such performance or results will have been achieved. Such statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual performance or results to differ materially from those expressed in such statements. For a further description of the risks and uncertainties that could cause the actual results to differ from those expressed in these forward-looking statements, as well as the risks related to the PLUG’s business in general, consult the public documents of the PLUG at the Securities and Exchange Commission. risk ”of the PLUG Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended 31 December 2019 and quarterly reports on Form 10-Q for the quarters ended 31 March 2020, 30 June 2020 and 30 September 2020 Readers are cautioned not to rely on unjustifiably on these forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this document, and PLUG assumes no obligation to update such statements as a result of new information.
SOURCE: PLOW POWER
Media contact
Ian Martorana
Bulleit Group
[email protected]