The following story was originally published at https://www.mergermarket.com – republished here with permisson:
Green Distillation Technologies, an Australian unlisted public environmentally friendly tyre-disposal company, is exploring options, including an IPO, to build plants and sell its technology in global markets, Chief Executive Officer Craig Dunn said.
The Melbourne-based company is investigating opportunities in multiple countries in markets like the US, UK and the Middle East, Dunn said. It has its own unnamed lawyers assisting but is happy to hear from advisors with opportunities and suggestions, he said.
The company is currently in talks with two Japanese trading houses looking to possibly take equity in the company, with input into a potential IPO. Further growth plans will depend on the outcome of these talks, he said.
The company evaluated undertaking an IPO in 2012 but decided to maintain its ownership structure. It reviews IPO plans every six months but no decision has yet been made, Dunn said. An IPO would provide liquidity options for current shareholders and help the company to fast track global growth, he added.
Established in 2009, Green Distillation Technologies has raised AUD 33m (USD 24m) to date, mostly from individual shareholders, but also from government grants, said Dunn, who together with Chief Operating Officer Trevor Bayley owns some 28% of the company, the CEO noted.
Green Distillation Technologies solves end-of-life tyre problems by converting rubber tyres into bio-oil, carbon and steel, also helping to solve the global environmental problem of what to do with millions of used tyres each year, Dunn said.
It is close to receiving income from the sales of oil, carbon and steel from its test production in its Warren, New South Wales-based production facility, and IT is in the process of finalizing approvals to build another plant in Toowoomba in Queensland, Dunn said. The Edison award-winning company has 14 employees in its Warren plant and nine in its Melbourne head office.
When fully operational, it will also receive some of the recycling fees paid by Australian motorists when buying new and disposing of old tyres at a tyre retailer, Dunn said. The basic cost to build a plant in Australia that will process 19,000 end-of-life tyres is AUD 8.5m plus land cost, Dunn said, noting that some 20m tyres are disposed of in Australia each year. by Louise Weihart in Sydney
