Ombu Group and Hermes GPE Growth Capital Financing in Bluewater Bio

Water & wastewater technology specialists.

April 06, 2012

April 2012 - GP Bullhound, the technology investment bank, has acted as the exclusive financial advisor to Bluewater Bio International, the leading provider of innovative high-performance and highly cost-effective water and wastewater treatment technologies, on its £22.5 million equity transaction by specialist Cleantech investors Ombu Group and Hermes GPE Environmental Innovation Fund LP. This transaction, which includes £16.5 million of new money, represents one of the largest growth capital finance rounds in the water sector over the last 12 months and reflects the Company’s recent commercial progress.

Sector

Software

Region

UK/Ireland

Bluewater Bio has developed a high performance, cost effective proprietary wastewater treatment solution called Hybrid Activated Sludge (“HYBACS”) that saves up to 40% in energy usage, up to 50% in plant footprint and up to 25% in Capex. The Company has closed a £13 million contract with the Ministry of Works in Bahrain, a distribution agreement with Degrémont (Suez Environnement) for North America, and a recent UK order with Severn Trent Water. to growth in the identity verification market. It serves a wide range of sectors, such as e-commerce, insurance, utilities, retail, finance and legal services, and has over 1,000 clients worldwide.

Following the acquisition of FilterClear Ltd’s portfolio of advanced multimedia filtration technologies in September 2011, this funding round represents the second transaction completed with Bluewater Bio in the last 12 months and confirms GP Bullhound’s strategy to build long-term trusted relationships with its clients, providing strategic advice on M&A and financing options at every step in their developments.

With proven access to investors in the United States, Europe, the Middle East and Asia the successful completion of this transaction further solidifies GP Bullhound’s global leadership position in the Cleantech sector.

“Bluewater Bio possesses the critical elements of management vision, experienced technical and project teams, strong relationships in key markets, and a profitable business model. Capital raising is a serious challenge to many emerging companies in the water sector and thankfully Bluewater Bio had enough momentum and customer traction to get this deal done successfully.” commented André Shortell, Partner at GP Bullhound.

Daniel Ishag, Bluewater Bio CEO added: “GP Bullhound has played a crucial role in best positioning our equity story to investors, actively managing the process and structuring a transaction that balances the needs of our existing stakeholders. Whilst this financing obviously contributes crucial expansion capital to our business, the accompanying intellectual capital from OMBU and Hermes GPE is just as important.”