Fluence Corporation announced that proven water industry veteran Doug Brown will join Fluence as a Strategic Advisor to the Board. In his new role, Mr. Brown will provide advice with respect to development and implementation of strategies related to the operation, marketing and financial performance of the Company, evaluate acquisition opportunities and provide strategic advice regarding financing alternatives. In particular, Mr. Brown will focus on identifying ways to increase the Company’s recurring revenues throughout its targeted regions.
Mr. Brown is one of only a handful of globally recognized senior executives to have led two successful billion dollar exits in the water space. He was founder, Chairman and CEO of AquaVenture Holdings, which he led to a listing on the New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”) in 2016 and then subsequently sold to Culligan Water for US$1.1 billion in 2020 while he served as Chairman. Mr. Brown was also CEO of Seven Seas Water, an AquaVenture Holdings business. Previously he was CEO of NYSE-listed Ionics, Inc., which was acquired by GE Water for US$1.3 billion in 2005. Prior to Ionics, Mr. Brown was CEO of Advent International, a global private equity firm. Mr. Brown’s experience spans the US, Europe, South America, the Middle East, Caribbean, Africa and Southeast Asia. As part of Mr. Brown’s compensation for his Strategic Advisor role, he will be issued 12.5 million time vested stock options at a 10% premium to the 10 day volume-weighted average price and on other terms consistent with Company practice.
Mr. Brown is one of only a handful of globally recognized senior executives to have led two successful billion dollar exits in the water space
Concurrent with his appointment, Mr. Brown has also invested approximately A$2.7 million (US$1.9 million) in newly issued shares of Fluence at a price A$0.21/share.
Richard Irving, Chairman, commented: “We are honored to welcome Doug to Fluence, both as Strategic Advisor and an investor. In particular, we are excited about his deep experience in building water businesses driven by recurring revenue, a key objective of Fluence. With two consecutive US$1 billion+ exits in an industry that is often very conservative, Doug is uniquely aware that technology differentiation has the potential to enable unicorns in this industry. Doug is one of the most successful water industry executives worldwide. We also see Doug’s purchase of a material equity stake in Fluence as a clear vote of confidence in our proprietary MABR technology and our growth potential.”
Mr. Brown commented: “I am truly excited to be taking on this position to assist Fluence in its development. The Company has a tremendous team and Fluence’s MABR technology is leading edge in the wastewater treatment field. As wastewater discharge standards continue to tighten, the demand for MABR based wastewater systems will grow significantly. The opportunity to build this business using a recurring revenue model is there and I’m confident that given my experience, I can contribute materially to Fluence’s success.”
Details of the Placement
The Company announces it has received firm commitments for the issue of 25.7 million New Shares at an issue price of $0.21 per New Share to raise approximately US$3.778 million (AU$5.397 million). The Placement will be issued under existing capacity for new equity issuances under Listing Rule 7.1A and accordingly no shareholder approval will be required. The participants in the placement include institutional and sophisticated investors including Mr Doug Brown who has invested US$1.9 million.
The placement price of $0.21 per New Share represents a 6% discount to the 5 day volume weighted average price (VWAP) of $0.225.
The settlement and allotment of the new shares are due to take place on 23 and 24 May respectively.
