EANS-News: German Pellets Acquires Interest in Italian Electricity Provider

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Subtitle: Company acquires majority stake in Ely S.p.A. /
Construction and operation of decentralised wood-pellet-fired power
plants in Northern Italy

Mergers - Acquisitions - Takeovers

Wismar (euro adhoc) - German Pellets Holding Italia, the Italian
holding company of the Wismar-based German Pellets Group, has
acquired a majority interest in the Italian Ely S.p.A. Group, a
medium-sized energy company based in Milan that develops, builds and
operates plants in Northern Italy for the production of electricity
and heat from renewable energy sources. With Ely S.p.A., German
Pellets plans in Italy to continue promoting the construction of
small wood-pellet-fired power plants and expects to see a significant
increase in pellet consumption in the future.

"For us Ely S.p.A. is the ideal partner - competent in the
development of plants and well connected in Italy owing to its
existing business relationships," said Peter Leibold, managing
partner of German Pellets GmbH. Ely S.p.A. operates combined heat and
power plants fired with wood pellets. These CHP plants are located in
Northern Italy and have capacities of 0.2 to one MW. Ely S.p.A. has
specialised in the development, construction and operation of such
plants and also runs a research centre in Cremona. "With the
investment of German Pellets, we are expanding our know-how and,
furthermore, have gained a partner that - like us - has taken up the
cause of promoting the energy transition," said Massimiliano Cagelli,
Ely managing director. Through the co-operation with German pellets,
the construction of wood-pellet-fired CHP plants shall be further
accelerated. The company plans to build new decentralised plants,
above all in Northern Italian municipalities. The electricity will be
fed into the public grid, and the heat energy, sold to regional
buyers. The feed-in tariffs for green electricity from CHP plants in
Italy are particularly economic. Potential customers for the heat
energy produced from the wood pellets will include municipal heating
networks, schools, retirement homes, supermarkets, hospitals and
swimming pools.

Through its investment in Ely, German Pellets is boosting its core
business. By supplying pellets to small power plants, the company
will sustainably increase its pellet sales for the long term. As a
partner for Ely, German Pellets is able to supply large quantities of
wood pellets. For example, the new plant coming on stream at the end
of the last year in the small town of Gorizia in north-eastern Italy
required 27,000 metric tons of pellets per year.

Ely S.p.A. operates not only CHP plants but also photovoltaic plants.
2012 the company expects to generate approx. 30 million euros in
sales. German Pellets Holding Italia has a 51 per cent shareholding
in the joint-stock company.

For the German Pellets Group, Italy represents an important sales
market, which is growing annually by minimum 10 per cent. 2012 the
total annual pellet consumption in Italy is expected to exceed two
million metric tons for the first time. Roughly two-thirds of this
total is imported. German Pellets products already make up a
substantial portion of the imports.

Wood pellets are made from dried shavings and sawdust pressed into a
cylindrical shape. They can be used for a wide range of applications
- in private households for firing central heating systems and
stoves, in medium-sized heating plants for local, district and
industrial process heating networks, such as in clinics, housing
associations, businesses and municipalities, and in the green
electricity market. CHP plants are characterised by their high
efficiency, as both the generated electricity and the cogenerated
heat are used. "The concept of decentralised energy also makes it
possible to sell the generated heat, owing to the proximity of
potential customers. The production of energy in close proximity to
the end-user is a model for a sustainable future, for Germany as
well," said German Pellets CEO Peter Leibold.

About Ely S.p.A. Ely S.p.A., Milan, was founded in 2009 with the aim
of generating electricity and heat from renewable energies. With the
motto "Energy, where it is needed", Ely S.p.A. develops, builds and
operates biomass-fuel-based, decentralised energy-supply systems, as
well as photovoltaic systems.

About German Pellets German Pellets GmbH was founded in 2005 in
Wismar (Mecklenburg-Vorpommern) and has since become the leading
manufacturer of wood pellets in Germany and Europe. German Pellets
produces wood pellets and animal-hygiene products at 14 sites in
Germany and Austria. Currently German Pellets is building a
production facility in Texas, USA.

Further inquiry note:
Claudia Röhr
Tel.: +49 (0)3841 30306412
E-Mail: claudia.roehr@german-pellets.de

end of announcement euro adhoc
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company: German Pellets GmbH
Am Torney 2a
D-23970 Wismar
phone: +49 (0) 3841 30 30 6 0
FAX: +49 (0) 3841 - 30 30 6 91 00
WWW: http://www.german-pellets.de
sector: Energy
ISIN: DE000A1H3J67
indexes:
stockmarkets: free trade/Bondm: Stuttgart, Open Market: Frankfurt
language: English