CTI and its alliance members have successfully completed over $7 billion in project equity and debt placements, merger & acquisition transactions, and strategic consulting assignments involving the following fuels and technologies: natural gas combined cycle, coal and waste-coal fueled circulating fluidized bed, landfill gas-to-energy, hydroelectric, biomass, wind energy, ocean wave energy, nuclear energy and coal gasification. In the process, CTI has gained deep insights into energy investor behavior.
Having had the opportunity to invest equity on behalf of former employers Dow Chemical and Combustion Engineering, CTI’s founding principal has had the benefit of having to live with the results of his decisions. As a result, CTI has gained the reputation with investors and developers for structuring project investments that stand the test of time.
Staying on top of the project financing markets
CTI's location in the greater New York area, where most of the major hedge funds and private equity funds are headquartered, enables CTI to maintain an active presence in the private equity investor community.
CTI engages in a variety of activities to stay on top of the market. Besides meeting with top energy investors to update CTI's investment profiles, CTI belongs to a number of investor-oriented organizations where senior officers meet regularly gather to share their views on the market and present the latest in structuring techniques. In addition, CTI is a regular speaker at energy project conferences on such topics as capital availability and gasification financing.
No two investors are alike
Energy investors vary widely as to funding capacity, cost of funds, technology preferences, accounting constraints, appetite for tax benefits, minimum and maximum investment size, approval processes and willingness to fund development. The result is a set of unique investors that are as different as points on a compass. Knowing these differences in essential when taking deals to them. Lenders also differ widely, although along fewer dimensions.
Relationship investing
CTI believes in the competitive market’s ability to consistently beat what developers can achieve by relying solely on long-standing personal relationships. Because each investor’s appetite varies widely during the year depending on where they stand versus budget, it's impossible to know in advance which investors will be able to offer the best deal. Positioning your company to have investors (including ones with whom your company already has an existing relationship) to compete against one another is particularly important if you want to negotiate the level of carried interest and other terms your firm believes it deserves.
Project developer orientation
While CTI has a deep appreciation for the issues facing developers and has access to a group of highly experienced development consultants, CTI does not try to be a developer. Rather, CTI believes it can add the greatest value by leveraging experienced developers to get the most value from their projects.
Objectivity
There is a growing trend among some of the larger investment and infrastructure firms to provide financing to the same projects in which they have an advisory mandate. We believe this makes it difficult to be as aggressive as needed when pursuing competing sources of financing. Over the years CTI has steadfastly maintained its independence from any single financing source, so that it can bring your company the best the market has to offer.
Transaction closing expertise
CTI has the enviable record of having closed slightly over 90% of those transactions that CTI has taken to market. Several factors account for this:
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Superior packaging – CTI is expert at presenting complex investment opportunities clearly and succinctly. CTI finds that lenders and investors respond best to conservative financial projections, with all potential risks identified up-front, along with a plan for mitigating them. CTI's reputation with investors for clarity and straight dealing helps ensure that your company's project will get the attention it deserves. Most of the transactions CTI takes to market require considerable analysis and positioning before they can be taken to market. It is not unusual for this process to take up to two months, but is necessary given the maximum of 15-30 minutes that most investors have to decide whether to pursue an opportunity. Keeping the investor interested enough to keep reading is a skill CTI has developed over many years of practice.
- Competition - CTI believes in the competitive market’s ability to consistently beat what is achievable by relying on existing investor and lender relationships. Because each investor’s appetite varies widely during the year, depending on where they stand versus budget and other factors, it's impossible to know in advance which investors have the characteristics to be able to offer the best deal. CTI is highly experienced at running competitive auctions for asset sales as well as for debt and equity placements. Positioning your company to have all eligible investors (including ones you already know) compete against one another is extremely important to being able to negotiate the best terms.
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Reputation for bringing good deals - CTI's experience includes committing large amounts of equity capital as a principal in order to win boiler sales and turnkey contracts, then having to manage these project transactions as they went through construction and start-up. As a result, CTI has gained the reputation with investors and developers for structuring sound project transactions that stand the test of time.
CTI's long-standing reputation for clarity and straight dealing helps ensure that your company's project will get the investor attention it deserves.