PPK Group Limited, a technology incubation and commercialisation, has completed the acquisition of majority interest in PowerPlus Energy (PPE), Australia’s largest privately-owned lithium battery manufacturer.
The transaction involves the acquisition of a 51 per cent interest in PPE, further expanding PPK’s exposure to the Australian lithium battery sector. It also adds to a less than 51 per cent controlled interest in ASX-listed lithium-sulphur battery technology company Li-S Energy.
Upon the completion of the acquisition, PPE has an interest-bearing debt of around $4.5 million, around which $3.9 million is comprised of shareholder loans.
The debt includes a $1 million loan from PPK to support the company’s future growth plans.
PPK nominees Glenn Malloy and Ben Spincer have joined the PPE board as part of the transaction agreement.
Melbourne-based PowerPlus Energy employs around 80 people and supplies reliable, long-lasting modular battery storage solutions that use lithium ferro phosphate cell technology.
The company designs and manufactures lithium-ion batteries and full-battery energy storage systems in Australia for the stationary storage market and serves a network of approximately 300 distributors and installers across Australia and New Zealand.
PPE’s customers are predominantly located in Victoria, New South Wales, Queensland, and Western Australia. The Australian manufacturer currently delivers more than 50 MWh of energy storage to customers each year and is planning to expand its capacity to over 200 MWh within the next 12 months.
PPE Chief Executive Bradley Paton will continue to be heavily involved with the daily operations of the business.
Meanwhile, PPK’s executive team is expected to provide standard shared services to support to the existing PPE executive and management team.
“Through automation, strategic growth initiatives and other business process improvements, we will be working towards growing the annual revenue of this business to $100m within three years. The PPE acquisition ensures PPK can play a pivotal role in supporting the shift to renewables. We are looking forward to working with Bradley, and the broader PPE team, given his passion for PPE’s customers, employees, and the industry,” said PPK Chairman Robin Levison.
