Energy Holdings Limited Files Preliminary Proxy and Vows To Elect Its Slate of
Nominees to MMC's Board at May 28th Annual Meeting
WILMINGTON, N.C., April 16 /PRNewswire/ -- Energy Holdings Limited LLC
("EHL") announced today that it, together with G. William Eason and Karl W.
Miller, has filed a preliminary proxy statement today with the Securities and
Exchange Commission to elect its slate of nominees to the MMC Energy, Inc.
(Nasdaq: MMCE) board of directors replacing the existing board.
EHL and Messrs. Eason and Miller, MMC's founder, former chairman and CEO
and, the company's largest individual stockholder, have joined to propose a
slate of directors and remove the existing board at MMC's Annual Meeting of
Stockholders to be held on May 28, 2008. Together, EHL and Messrs. Eason and
Miller own approximately 9.1 percent of MMC's outstanding common stock.
Miller has also pledged to invest up to $1 million in MMC if the EHL slate is
elected.
MMC's board has recently made several announcements that have created
concern among EHL and other stockholders.
On March 20th, the company announced it had retained Merriman Curhan and
Ford to develop strategic alternatives for the company. As MMC's IPO occurred
in June 2007, EHL and other investors were puzzled by the move.
On March 26th, MMC announced a share repurchase program, a use of proceeds
that was not addressed in MMC's June 2007 prospectus. EHL believes that the
funds should be dedicated to the development of MMC's Chula Vista and
Escondido projects as set forth in the prospectus. EHL and other stockholders
have made it clear to the incumbent board that the company should use the
proceeds for its stated purposes while ensuring that the projects are
completed on time and on budget.
On April 10th, MMC's board caused more concern when it filed with the SEC
"change in control" agreements bestowed on senior management who also serve on
the company's board. "This will make it more expensive to replace the
incumbent board," said Eason.
EHL has assured stockholders that its slate of nominees will not grant
these types of change of control benefits which it believes are not in the
best interest of stockholders. Additionally, the EHL slate of nominees has
pledged not to accept fees for their service on the MMC board of directors.
MMC has announced that it is opening a southern California office and EHL
believes that the announcement was in response to its criticism of the lack of
a southern California presence for MMC. MMC has not, however, as requested by
EHL, announced that it will close the New York office in order to conserve
cash. If elected, EHL's nominees have committed that the New York office will
be closed and that MMC will be southern California based as management's focus
will be on the construction budget and timetable of the Chula Vista and
Escondido plants and concentration on a Western states development and
acquisition strategy.
MMC also announced in its 2007 Form 10-K that it had ceased bidding
spinning reserve services into the California Independent System Operator
system as CAISO has called into question the ability of its facilities to
provide spinning reserves. MMC's Form 10-K disclosed that continued
suspension of this revenue could have a material adverse effect on its
operations. MMC did not file a complaint with the Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission, the agency charged with resolving such claims, for six months.
EHL was formed by a group of MMC's founding stockholders to take advantage
of the attractive opportunities prevalent in U.S. electricity generation and
energy industry.
EHL has been moving forward to implement its strategy and has several
projects under discussion with asset owners, developers and capital providers.
Earlier today, EHL announced the execution of a Letter of Intent to acquire
and complete construction of a 25 megawatt combined cycle plant that will sell
steam and electricity to a newly constructed ethanol plant in Sherman County,
Kansas and other industrial facilities in the area.
While the transaction is contingent upon final due diligence, executing a
definitive purchase and sale agreement, obtaining financing and other closing
conditions, Kevin McConville, EHL's chief operating officer said, "We are very
pleased to be working on an exclusive basis on such a high profile facility."
The plant is coal fired but is fully permitted to consume biomass
including obsolete railroad ties, tires and other waste derived fuels that
normally are disposed of in landfills. McConville stated that he believes
that regulators and industrials are excited by the prospect of producing
electricity and steam economically while reducing hazardous waste that
decomposes over many years in public landfills. As a result of its fuel
consumption profile, the facility creates emissions credits, a valuable yet
intangible asset.
"This facility proves electricity and steam can be produced economically,
important to the heartland's manufacturing base, especially when energy prices
are high, while still doing something good for the environment," said
McConville.
EHL has recently announced its senior management team has commenced its
commercial development and acquisition efforts and expects to be working on an
exclusive basis with several energy asset owners and developers to acquire
additional facilities.
"With energy prices soaring to levels never seen before, our transaction
pipeline is robust and, very importantly, executable," said McConville.
Attracting the appropriate capital to such projects is achievable as both debt
and equity sources are always looking to be placed "in high quality energy
projects." McConville noted that EHL's involvement in each potential project
is at an early stage. No financing commitments have been received and due
diligence has not been completed with respect to any of the projects.
Therefore, no assurances can be made regarding EHL's ability to complete these
projects or their success should they be completed.
EHL's board nominees have diverse backgrounds in business operations,
accounting, finance, technology and real estate. They include seasoned
execution oriented energy executives with experience in managing micro-cap
companies, a blend that EHL believes will serve MMC and its stockholders well.
"We are proud of our slate of nominees as it includes individuals who have
invested in MMC from its inception, have managed growth businesses and have
broad and deep experience in the energy industry," said Eason.
IMPORTANT INFORMATION
EHL and Messrs. G. William Eason and Karl W. Miller, founder and a former
chairman, CEO and director of MMC, have filed a preliminary proxy statement
with the Securities and Exchange Commission and intend to file with the SEC
and mail to stockholders a definitive proxy statement and proxy card to be
used to solicit proxies in connection with MMC's May 2008 annual meeting.
Stockholders are advised to read carefully the proxy statement and other
information related to the solicitation when they become available because
they will contain important information. When completed, a definitive proxy
statement and a form of proxy will be mailed to MMC's stockholders and will be
available, along with other relevant documents, at no charge, at the SEC's
website at http://www.sec.gov. Information relating to the participants in
such proxy solicitation will be contained in the definitive proxy statement to
be filed by EHL and Messrs. Eason and Miller.
Investor Contacts:
G. William Eason
gwilliameason@energyholdingslimited.com
(917) 591-6906
Media Contacts:
Kevin McConville
kmcconville@energyholdingslimited.com
(832) 731-7096
SOURCE Energy Holdings Limited LLC
Investor, G. William Eason, +1-917-591-6906,
gwilliameason@energyholdingslimited.com; Media, Kevin McConville,
+1-832-731-7096, kmcconville@energyholdingslimited.com, both of Energy
Holdings Limited LLC
