Eden Energy to raise $14m

Perth-based alternative energy company Eden Energy Ltd announced today a large share demand from United Kingdom institutions and sophisticated investors of $7.6 million for a placement of approximately 23 million shares to raise a total of $14 million.

Australian institutions and sophisticated local investors also took shares in the placement.The major institutional investors include Goldman Sachs from the UK and Macquarie Small Cap Fund from Australia.

Announcement pasted below

United Kingdom and local investors have injected A$14 million into an Australian company's push to be a global leader in green energy alternatives, particularly hydrogen, for transport fuels. ASX-listed Eden Energy Limited (ASX code "EDE") announced today that institutions and sophisticated investors in the United Kingdom had provided a large share (A$7.6 million) of demand for a placement of approximately 23,330,334 million ordinary shares by the Perth-based green energy fuel technologist to raise a total of A$13.94 million. Australian institutions and sophisticated local investors also took shares in the placement.
The major institutional investors included Goldman Sachs from the UK and Macquarie Small Cap Fund from Australia.

A commission of 5% is payable to the Australian and UK stockbrokers who arranged the placements.

The Eden placement - at A$0.60 per ordinary share - represents a 6.67% discount to last night's (Wednesday 11 July 2007) closing price for Eden of A$0.64 per share. It will take the number of Eden ordinary shares on issue to 158,488,513, valuing Eden at last night's closing price at approximately A$130 million (fully diluted). "The proceeds will be used to take our hydrogen fuel products and technologies right through to full commercialisation across several key global markets," Eden's Executive Chairman, Mr Greg Solomon, said today. "It is tremendous support from this group of UK and Australian investors and provides a pointer to increasing market recognition of the upside potential in green or alternate energy investment," Mr Solomon said. "It also reinforces a strong message to equities markets that a hydrogen-based economy is a nearer term horizon than previously credited and will become a cornerstone energy force as climate change and emission control issues increasingly impact. "This should precipitate ongoing and greater levels of investment in this sector."