Foster Wheeler sells 50% interest in Italian waste-to-energy project
Foster Wheeler Corporation announced that its Italian subsidiary, Foster Wheeler Italiana, Spa, has sold 50% of its interest in Lomellina Energia Srl to Fineldo Spa.
The transaction was closed on Dec. 29, 2000. It provided for a cash consideration, which purchased 50% of Foster Wheeler Italiana Spa's equity in Lomellina Energia. It also provided for an assumption of a corresponding portion of the project debt. Including debt deconsolidation, the transaction will result in an immediate debt reduction of approximately $130 million. The 2000 profit forecast for Foster Wheeler remains unchanged.
"The sale is an important step towards the objective of strengthening our balance sheet and focusing resources on our core business," said Gilles A. Renaud, senior vice president and CFO of Foster Wheeler Corporation.
Lomellina Energia Srl is a special purpose company formed by Foster Wheeler Italiana Spa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Foster Wheeler Corporation, for the development, construction and operation of a waste-to-energy project using Foster Wheeler circulating fluidized bed (CFB) technology.
The plant is located in Parona, near Milan, Italy. The 200,000 tons/year facility, in commercial operation since Oct. 1, 2000, is the first Italian waste-to-energy project developed by a private company with project financing. Prior to the sale, Foster Wheeler Italiana owned the entire capital stock of Lomellina Energia.
Fineldo is the holding company of the Vittorio Merloni Group, one of the leading Italian industrial conglomerates. Fineldo's holdings include a 45% interest in Merloni Elettrodomestici Spa, the third largest European producer of household appliances, and a controlling interest in MPE Spa, a company currently engaged in power project development and electricity trading.
Foster Wheeler and Merloni have cooperated recently in power project developments in Italy, including a 50% partnership for the construction and operation of two natural gas plants in Teverola and Ferrara. "This transaction reinforces the business partnership with the Merloni Group with positive implications for our current and future activities in the European Markets," said Gianfranco Brustia, vice chairman of Foster Wheeler Italiana and head of the Italian Power Division.
Foster Wheeler Corporation is a global company offering, through its subsidiaries, a broad range of design, engineering, construction, manufacturing, project development and management, research, plant operations and environmental services. The Corporation's headquarters are in Clinton, NJ. For more information about Foster Wheeler, visit their website at www.fwc.com.
Edited by Kate Goff
Managing Editor, Solid Waste Online
kgoff@verticalnet.com
Source: Foster Wheeler Corporation