Bluewater Bio Secures £4M Investment From Ecofin And Aqua Resources

Blue-chip funding validates technology and opens up acquisition route

Bluewater Bio, a global specialist in the treatment of wastewater, is pleased to announce that it has successfully raised £4M from new and existing investors. Ecofin Water & Power Opportunities Plc ("Ecofin"), the renowned utilities, energy and environmental investment firm, has invested £2M in Bluewater Bio by way of £2M subscription for secured loan notes, due in 2012, together with warrants to subscribe for up to 5,714,285 ordinary shares at 17.5p each in the capital of Bluewater Bio. In addition the Company has secured a further £2M on the same terms as Ecofin, from existing investor Aqua Resources Fund Limited ("Aqua"), the authorised closed-ended investment scheme managed by FourWinds Capital Management ("FourWinds").

These high profile investments follow strong progress from Bluewater Bio in both Bahrain and South Africa, where the Company's proprietary wastewater treatment technology is being recognised for its clear environmental and financial benefits.

Having conclusively proven its HYBACs technology across the world, this latest round of high-profile financial backing comes at a time when Bluewater Bio is shifting its strategy towards acquisitions. In this new phase of its evolution, the Company is examining compatible technologies and new markets that could boost its already burgeoning global presence. Contract wins in the Middle East and South Africa have demonstrated the appeal of HYBACS in areas of the world where the problem of water scarcity is becoming ever more acute. As well as enabling opportunistic acquisitions, the funds will also further accelerate the international roll out of Bluewater Bio's proprietary technology, working with select strategic partners, utilities and governmental bodies.

Joe Mangion, Managing Director, Special Situations at Ecofin, commented: "We are delighted to make this investment in Bluewater Bio as the Company crosses the inflection point between proof of technology and global adoption. As water scarcity and sanitation present an increasing challenge to global populations, Bluewater Bio's HYBACS technology heralds a true paradigm shift, enabling wastewater to be seen as a valuable and reusable resource rather than an expensive problem. Bluewater Bio has grown from strength to strength over the years and established a strong track record, validated in over 25 applications around the world where it has dramatically reduced capex and opex as well as removing harmful environmental pollutants from wastewater.

"Bluewater Bio has been on Ecofin's radar for some time; we are investing now in the firm belief that the Company has reached critical mass and is poised for rapid global growth – both organically and through strategic acquisitions."

Valerie Daoud Henderson, Head of FourWinds' Europe Environment Group, added, "We are pleased to announce this follow on investment in Bluewater Bio which positions Aqua to take full advantage of developments made by Bluewater Bio in recent months and to provide this fast growing technology company with the capital it requires to sustain and build on its recent successes."

Daniel Ishag, CEO of Bluewater Bio, concluded: "This investment comes at an exciting time for Bluewater Bio, as we ramp up both our existing operations and the adoption of our proprietary HYBACS technology globally. We have built an exceptional management team, most recently hiring Dynshaw Italia as Finance Director, and Peter Crocker as New Business Manager, to lead Bluewater Bio's next stage of expansion which is based not just on entering new markets but also on acquiring compatible technologies and businesses.

"We are now in a position to leverage our strong foundations. This solid financial backing from Ecofin, one of the most highly respected names in the industry, and from our existing investor Aqua, provides further endorsement of the potential for Bluewater Bio to reshape the global water industry. We look forward to becoming the one-stop solution for water companies and local authorities around the world as they try to tackle the challenges of complying with legislation, cutting carbon emissions and lowering costs." For more information, visit www.abchurch-group.com

About Bluewater Bio Limited
Bluewater Bio Limited has developed a cost effective advanced biological solution for the treatment of wastewater. Bluewater Bio is involved at all stages of the process from plant design and costing through to installation, commissioning and training and, when required, the provision of ongoing operation and maintenance. The proprietary technology, called HYBACS (Hybrid Bacillus Activated Sludge), is gaining acceptance among a growing number of companies both in Europe and in the Middle East to be commercially superior to many existing treatment processes worldwide, across a wide range of treatment requirements. Bluewater Bio's strategy is to focus on selling HYBACS technology to both the municipal treatment sector and to industrial customers and polluters of water. This strategy aims to present customers with cost-effective HYBACS-based treatment and to offer solutions which provide the immediate treatment, capital cost benefits, wastewater reuse potential and also the lifetime operational expenditure benefits of the HYBACS process.

Bluewater Bio's product offering addresses wastewater treatment requirements associated with:

• municipal and domestic wastewater from cities and residential developments;
• upgrading existing sewage treatment plants to meet stricter regulations and legislation;
• wastewater reuse, providing high quality treated effluent for use in agriculture, irrigation, landscaping, and ‘greening' initiatives where there is water scarcity, such as the Middle East;
• beverage wastewater from brewers and drink manufacturers;
• food processing wastewater, for example effluent from an abattoir or confectionary plant; and
• leacheate wastewater, which is the fluid which accumulates in landfill sites.

HYBACS is also able to treat efficiently a much wider range of organic industrial wastewaters, including highly concentrated livestock wastewater and the effluent from, among others, textile manufacturers, hospitals and factories.

The HYBACS system is applicable to new and existing works, over a wide range of scale, and has been proven commercially in over 25 applications.

The HYBACS process deploys a different biological approach to any internationally established wastewater treatment process. Through its design and operation, HYBACS biologically selects a particular group of bacteria with unusual natural properties which, if correctly stimulated, exhibit higher biological reaction rates than other known naturally occurring bacteria. This forms the foundation of the HYBACS process's ability to deliver wastewater treatment with superior performance over competing technologies in a number of key areas.

For more information, visit www.bluewaterbio.com.

About Ecofin
Ecofin is a leading specialist in the utilities and infrastructure sectors worldwide, managing $2.8B across a range of hedge funds, long-only funds and mandates. Ecofin has a global team of 25 utility specialists. Ecofin was founded in 1992, is SEC-registered and FSA-regulated, and has offices in London, New York, Hong Kong and Geneva.

SOURCE: Bluewater Bio Limited