CLEAN ENERGY BRAZIL ADMITTED TO LONDON'S AIM

My comments on the piece below:

The smart money in Europe shares many of the views expressed on Ethablog. The following quotes appear further below in the body of CEB's press release.

• "Brazil is the world's largest sugar producer and exporter and is the lowest cost producer of raw sugar in the world."

• "As a result of the reform of the European sugar regime the directors (of CEB) believe there will be a sharp decline in EU sugar production and exports, thereby reducing world sugar supply, and hence benefiting Brazil."

• "Overall demand for Brazilian bioethanol is expected to rise due to the recent introduction of flex-fuel cars - cars which can run on any mix of gasoline or ethanol."

• "The directors of the Company believe that the global bioethanol market is in its infancy, and that high energy prices, environmental concerns and political pressures will continue to support expansion in the use and development of biofuels."

***************************
Clean Energy Brazil Plc, an investment company with a mandate to invest directly into Brazil's sugar and ethanol industry, is pleased to announce its admission to trading on the AIM Market of the London Stock Exchange (which is expected to occur at 8am today)

Numis Securities conceived and developed the CEB concept, built the management team, and has backed the company alongside institutional investors. Numis is also a major shareholder in Temple Capital Partners, which will manage CEB's funds.

Admission Statistics

Placing Price per Ordinary Share: £1

Number of Ordinary Shares in issue on Admission: 100 million

Gross proceeds of the Placing: £100 million

Market capitalisation at the Placing Price: £100 million

Warrants which are also expected to commence trading on AIM at 8am today have been issued on the basis of 1 warrant for 4 ordinary shares. Placees will also receive shares in Temple Capital Partners Limited.

Overview

• An AIM listed investment company, designed to take advantage of the growth potential and the consolidation opportunities in Brazil's sugar and bioethanol industry

• CEB has agreed an initial investment of $137m into a fully integrated existing sugar/ethanol asset with associated greenfield projects, full due diligence has been performed and the investment agreement has been finalised

• CEB is seeking to pay a 5p dividend in respect of the period to 30 September 2007, and is targeting an aggregate IRR of 25% on capital invested

• CEB's Non-Executive Chairman is Antonio Monteiro de Castro, the current chief operating officer of British American Tobacco plc

Strategy

CEB proposes to invest in both existing sugar and bioethanol production units and in new greenfield projects. Investing in new projects will capture the inherent development premium, whereas acquiring equity in existing assets will capture immediate cash flows.

The target assets comprise agricultural sugar cane plantations, industrial milling facilities, sugar and ethanol production facilities, and associated export logistics infrastructure.

There is significant scale in the sugar cane industry in Brazil; the current total land dedicated to sugar cane production is approximately 6 million hectares. However, consolidation in the sector is very rare, most ethanol/sugar production facilities still remaining family owned and run businesses.

Investment Adviser - Temple Capital Partners

Two leading industry advisors have been brought together by Numis to form one of the largest teams of professionals working in the sugar/ethanol sector in Brazil.

• Czarnikow Sugar: one of the largest physical brokers of sugar in the world, Czarnikow Sugar dates back to 1861 and is today represented in 11 countries, employing some 130 professionals. Czarnikow Sugar provides mergers and acquisition advice, trading, hedging, shipping, consultancy and risk management services. Its key clients include large international corporations, sugar millers, refiners, and traders around the world.

• Agrop: a leading sugar cane agronomy outsourcing company in Brazil,

Agrop provides agronomy and agricultural/industrial services for some of the largest sugar mills in Brazil. The Chief Executive Officer and joint owner Marcelo Junqueira is a landowner, farmer and shareholder in one of the largest sugar mill companies in Brazil. The Junqueira family is one of the most well-known and respected 'sugar families' in Brazil.

Rationale: Ethanol/Sugar/Brazil

• Brazil is the world's largest sugar producer and exporter and is the lowest cost producer of raw sugar in the world.

• As a result of the reform of the European sugar regime the directors believe there will be a sharp decline in EU sugar production and exports, thereby reducing world sugar supply, and hence benefiting Brazil.

• Overall demand for Brazilian bioethanol is expected to rise due to the recent introduction of flex-fuel cars - cars which can run on any mix of gasoline or ethanol.

• The directors of the Company believe that the global bioethanol market is in its infancy, and that high energy prices, environmental concerns and political pressures will continue to support expansion in the use and development of biofuels.

Peter Thompson, Chairman of Temple Capital Partners Limited, and Director of Czarnikow Sugar commented,

'Clean Energy Brazil gives a London equity window on the world leading Brazilian sugar and ethanol industry. Both the industry and Clean Energy Brazil are facing enormous growth in demand for their products; they will benefit from the growing awareness that cars fuelled by ethanol from sugar cane can be part of the solution to global warming.

To maximise the return to investors we have raised only the money that we believe we can immediately invest. CEB is seeking to become a major participant in the Brazilian sector, and has numerous projects under consideration.'

Oliver Hemsley, Chief Executive of Numis commented,

'We continue to set Numis apart as an innovative investment banking business. The Numis team conceived and developed the concept of Clean Energy Brazil and has built the management team. As partners with Czarnikow Sugar and Agrop we look forward to building a company of scale in this growing market.'

Marcelo Junqueira, Founder and CEO of Agrop, and Non-Executive Director of Clean Energy Brazil commented,

'The sugar cane industry in Brazil is the major player in the international sugar market, and the world leader in ethanol production. Understanding Brazil's sugar and ethanol sector at a local, hands-on level is absolutely fundamental to the success of CEB, and I believe investors have recognised the quality and depth of the team we have assembled.'

18 December 2006

Enquiries:

Numis

Andrew Dawber - Managing Director, Corporate Finance

020 7776 1500

Tom Frost - Associate Director, Corporate Finance

Smith and Williamson Corporate Finance

Azhic Basirov - Director

020 7131 4000

David Jones - Director

College Hill

Peter Pantlin - Director

020 7457 2020

Paddy Blewer

Biographies of key personnel

Antonio Monteiro de Castro - Non-Executive Chairman of CEB

Antonio is the chief operating officer of British American Tobacco plc, a constituent of the FTSE 100 index. In addition, Antonio is non-executive chairman of the Souza Cruz S.A. Administrative Council (one of Brazil's leading companies), and a director of Fundacao Getulio Vargas, Brazil's foremost education and research foundation. Antonio has an MBA from Babson College in the US.

Peter Thompson - Chairman of Temple Capital Partners, Director of Czarnikow Peter has 20 years' experience of working in the sugar industry, the last 10 years as a director for Czarnikow. Based in London, Peter typically spends one week a month in Brazil and is responsible for Czarnikow's Brazilian activities. He is a fluent Portuguese speaker, and will lead the Temple team in providing advice to CEB.

Marcelo Junqueira - Founder and CEO, Agrop

Marcelo is the CEO of Agrop. He has spent his entire life in the sugar and ethanol industry in Brazil, and he is a member of one of the most influential sugar families in Brazil.

Numis Securities

Numis' New Energy and Emissions sector team is dedicated to developing and presenting investment opportunities across the renewable energy and emissions reduction spectrum.

Follow what's happening in the Brazilian ethanol market on Ethablog, the only blog in English dedicated to Brazilian ethanol.