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Alternative Energy - Friday, January 4, 2008

Whodunnit at Imperium Renewables?

The what-happened story of the year to date has got to be Imperium Renewables. The company axed its guiding light and CEO Martin Tobias and withdrew its IPO two weeks thereafter. It's no surprise that Imperium pulled its flotation given worsening market conditions for alternative fuel companies but why did Tobias have to go? We have been very impressed by Tobias who has moved between founder and investor. He created the game plan for Imperium, raised the funding and gave it a change for a fast IPO. But something most have gone awfully wrong. Was it a personal transgression or mismanagement? The truth usually emerges, especially when so much money is at stake so why not put your cards on the table?

Imperium filed for an IPO -- which was expected to raise $345M -- in May. The company said it would use about $220M from the stock sale to open 100M gallon refineries in Hawaii, Argentina and Philadelphia. Last year, Imperium raised $214M in equity and debt financing.

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