Seal Beach-based Clean Energy Fuels Corp. has secured $150 million from three Asian investment funds to back its plan to develop corridors of natural gas fueling stations throughout the country and other projects.
Clean Energy has raised $300 million in the last month as it aims to bring a low-cost, low-carbon alternative to diesel fuel to a broader market.
The company develops and runs natural gas stations near airports, utility companies, universities, city yards and other places they’re likely to see a lot of use. The latest chunk of money follows another $150 million investment that came from Oklahoma City-based Chesapeake Energy Corp. last month.
Chesapeake’s investment was for some 150 liquid natural gas fueling stations at Pilot-Flying J Travel Centers across the U.S. The goal is to establish what Clean Energy is calling “America’s Natural Gas Highway.”
Clean Energy has annual revenue of more than $200 million and hopes to clear earnings hurdles by building a network of fueling stations for the largest segment of the market: heavy-duty haulers that consume some $30 billion of fuel annually. That dwarfs the public sector and waste management industries combined.
Construction has started on the first phase of the corridor project, with about 75 stations expected to be completed by the end of 2012. Clean Energy opened a station in Houston last week and has eight others under construction, according to founder and Chief Executive Andrew Littlefair.
• Headquarters: Seal Beach
• Business: natural gas fueling stations, related equipment
• Founded: 2001
• Ticker symbol: CLNE (Nasdaq)
• 2010 revenue: $211.8 million
• 2010 profit: ($2.5 million)
• Notable: landed $300 million in separate investments in past month
When the multi-year project concludes, major transportation arteries in California, Texas and the Midwest are expected to have natural gas stations spread out every 250 miles or so.
The latest investments comes from Springleaf Investments Pte. Ltd., a unit of Temasek Holdings Pte. Ltd.; Lionfish Investments Pte. Ltd., a fund managed by Seatown Holdings International Pte. Ltd.; and Greenwich Asset Holding Ltd., a unit of RRJ Capital Master Fund I LP.
Springleaf and Lionfish are based in Singapore.
Some of the money from the Asian investors also will be used for the corridors of natural gas stations. In addition to construction, the effort includes marketing, purchasing delivery trucks, and hiring management and maintenance personnel, the company said.
Under the deal, Clean Energy convertible debt, which carries an interest rate of 7.5%, is due in 2016.
The debt is convertible to Clean Energy’s common stock at $15 per share.
The investment, subject to customary closing conditions, is expected to be finalized this month.
Investors sent Clean Energy shares up more than 3% Aug. 15 on news of the investment to a market value of $930 million.
Legendary oilman and corporate raider T. Boone Pickens started Clean Energy as a tiny part of his Dallas-based Mesa Petroleum in the late 1980s. He split it off in the late 1990s.
