Grid Essence Holdings Ltd. Completes GBP 77 Million Financing With Deutsche Bank AG

TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwired - Jan. 6, 2014) -

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Grid Essence Holdings Ltd. and its wholly-owned subsidiary Grid Essence UK Ltd ("Grid Essence") today have announced that the company has entered into a £77 million financing facility with Deutsche Bank AG to build solar projects (the "Facility") in the United Kingdom.

The Facility will be utilized by Grid Essence to acquire and build up to an aggregate of 60 MW of fully permitted solar projects in the south of England under the Renewable Obligation Certificates ("ROC") regime issued by the UK Department for Energy and Climate Change (the "Projects"). Construction of the Projects is anticipated to start immediately, with the majority of projects to be connected to the power grid by the end of March, 2014. Upon completion, these solar power plants will generate 58 GWh of electricity every year covered by strong performance guarantees for the life of the solar plants. The Facility is available to Grid Essence until September, 2014 at which time Grid Essence intends to replace the facility by a long term project finance loan.

Steve Bourbonnais, the Co-Founder & Chief Executive Officer of Grid Essence, commented that "We are honored to have Deutsche Bank as our financing partner in this critical construction phase. This facility represents a key milestone that enables Grid Essence to realize its UK 1.6 ROC and 1.4 ROC Projects. Once connected to the grid, these solar power plants will put us on course to reach our operating megawatt targets for 2014 and positions Grid Essence to deliver sustainable growth for our shareholders".

About Grid Essence

Grid Essence (www.gridessence.com) was established to become an independent power producer producing energy from 100% Renewable Energy Sources ("RES"). Grid Essence's mission is to own and operate at least one gigawatt of renewable energy producing plants within the next 5 years, initially focusing on solar generation. Grid Essence wishes to build a solid platform as a RES power producer to take advantage of the upside offered by evolving renewable energy technologies such as energy storage.

Grid Essence currently has 60 megawatts ("MW") of photovoltaic ("PV") projects under construction, 22.5 MW of operating PV and circa 20 MW of ready to build PV projects under contract. In turn, management has developed an impressive pipeline of solar projects in the UK, France, and Italy to support its ambitious growth plan, which also includes the acquisition of selected operating PV plants.

Further Information

All information contained in this news release with respect to Grid Essence was supplied by the parties respectively, for inclusion herein, and each party and its directors and officers have relied on the other party for any information concerning the other party.

For further information regarding the Transaction, please contact the undersigned.

CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION: This news release includes certain "forward-looking statements" under applicable Canadian securities legislation. Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements with respect to: the terms and conditions of the proposed Transaction; future exploration and testing; use of funds; and the business and operations of the Resulting Issuer after the proposed transaction. Forward-looking statements are necessarily based upon a number of estimates and assumptions that, while considered reasonable, are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors which may cause the actual results and future events to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such factors include, but are not limited to: general business, economic, competitive, political and social uncertainties; delay or failure to receive board, shareholder or regulatory approvals; and the results of current exploration and testing. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Zidane and Grid Essence disclaim any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.