Energy storage company Augwind (TASE: AUGN), whose stock has been the star of the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange since the beginning of this year, with a rise of about 900%, is taking advantage of the dramatic rise in its market cap to raise up to NIS 165 million from financial institutions in a private placement.
Augwind has developed energy storage in the form of compressed air, which is used in production processes in many branches of industry.
Augwind's notification to the stock exchange states that it has already received investment commitments from several institutions. The placement will be at a price of NIS 82 per share, about 14% below market. Following the announcement of the placement, the share price climbed further; its opening price this morning is NIS 101.50. The placement is being led by ValueBase Underwriting.
The placement will include one non-marketable warrant for every two shares, exercisable at NIS 125 per share from the placement date until 2022. Augwind stresses that there is no certainty that the placement will go ahead, and that its terms will be published later.
Augwind began to be traded in its current format in late 2019 when it merged with a stock exchange shell company (Biomedico Hadarim). The company says that its storage system is "based on unique technology" developed over many years by Or Yogev, one of the company's controlling shareholders and its CEO and chairman.
Augwind was founded in 2012, and deals in the underground storage of energy in the form of compressed air, to be used both for energy efficiency (AirSmart), a technology already at the commercial stage, and for energy storage (AirBattery), which is still under development.
The company states in its latest presentation that it holds ten registered patents and has five patent applications outstanding, all in the energy field.
Augwind says that its AirSmart system optimizes energy consumption and saves the use of electric power. In its presentation it estimates the market for the system in Israel at $100 million, and the global market in the billions of dollars. The company has set its sights on two markets outside of Israel: the US, and Germany. Its focus is on large industrial parks in regions where the cost of power is high.
Among Augwind's existing customers are food companies Tnuva and Strauss, communications equipment company Rapac, Israel Aerospace Industries, cement company Nesher, and plastics companies Nilit and Keter.
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on July 20, 2020
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