What is QGEN?

QGEN's development, ownership, and operating experience as well as its reputation as an "innovator" has seemingly been attained in an impressively, unprecedented short time-frame.

A recent press release, Boston, August 10, 2010 (Business Wire), attributed to QGEN (example of press release from EuroInvestor), expounds that four major industry players ("QGEN of the USA" being one of them) have joined forces to form the Hybrid Energy Consortium ("HEC"), focused on the design of next generation utility-scale commercial integrated solar combined cycle ("ISCC") power plants.  It further extols that the members "... are all known innovators in their respective specialties in the energy industry."  An article from Renewable Energy World describes QGEN as a "Boston-based development company..."

The Massachusetts, Secretary of the Commonwealth, Corporations Division shows that the Date of Registration for QGEN (USA), INC. is January 29, 2010. Corroboration of this date is found in this website that tracks Massachusetts company formations Startups Formed in Massachusetts in 1/2010.

INFERENCE
Total time between QGEN's registration in Massachusetts and the press release is approximately 6 months.

DISCUSSION

BACKGROUND

• BTU Ventures' website states that "BTU's asset portfolio includes 18 power and co-generation assets in the Middle East, North Africa and Asia, with approximate gross capacity of 12,600 MW."  (There is no information anywhere that can substantiate/validate that Ventures has ever been the direct or indirect owner of electric power and desalination assets ANYWHERE in the world - it has been, and still remains the provider of SERVICES as a CONTRACTOR. Although, it appears, from statements made elsewhere in various litigation filings that BTU Industries Holdings (USA) Inc. is taking over the role of Ventures.)
• BTU Power is described as a "private equity firm with a track record in developing, managing and owning 11,000 MW (gross) of installed power generation capacity located in China, South Korea, Taiwan, Tunisia and the United Arab Emirates." (source: ACG's Boston Growth Conference 2010 - Wael Almazeedi, Panelist)

FACTS

• BTU Ventures provides, on a contract basis, ONLY services to BTU Power (source: uncontroverted facts from the record - MEMORANDUM AND ORDER PURSUANT TO RULE 1:28 in the Original Hayat Litigation)
• BTU Power Company no longer holds any equity interest in Meiya Power Company (MPC Holdings) (source: press release titled "MPC Aims to Raise Up To US$400 Million in Hong Kong IPO" - NASDAQ Online - 12 January, 2010).  

Standard Chartered Private Equity Ltd.,
Noonday Asset Management Asia Pte. Ltd, and
Farallon Capital Management, LLC 

acquired all of MPC Holdings (formerly known as Meiya Power Company) sometime in 2007.  This fact is corroborated in paragraph 31 of the Amended Complaint by Abdulmohsen Hayat, where Hayat alleges that Al-Mazeedi sold BTU's stake in Meiya Power Company sometime in May or June of 2007.

• China Guangdong Nuclear Power Company (“CGNPC”) acquired 100% of Meiya Power Company from Standard Chartered Principal Finance, Standard Chartered IL&FS Asia Infrastructure Growth Fund (“SCI Asia”) and funds managed by Noonday Asset Management Asia and Farallon Capital Management on Friday, 5 November 2010. [link: China Guangdong Nuclear Power Company (“CGNPC”) acquisition of MPC]

• BTU Power's remaining investments are,

BTU Power: United Arab Emirates TAPCo
BTU Power: Tunisia CPC

As the discussion in the main body of this blog indicates, the total capacity in BTU Power's portfolio totals only 483 MW (net).  BTU Power Company has not made any documented investments since the TAPCO acquisition sometime in early 2005.  Consequently, the total maximum direct investments that BTU Power Company could potentially still hold (as further discussed in the main body of this blog) does not exceed $43 million (CPC) + $75 million (TAPCO) = $118 million. However, if BTU Power invested in TAPCO on the same basis as the other consortium partners (see posting regarding Pendekar Power in the main body of this blog) the total DIRECT investment may be even lower, it might not exceed $98 million.

CREDENTIALS

• BTU Industries, another seemingly related company, was recently being touted as a "global developer, owner and operator of independent power and desalination plants and a venture capital investor in renewable energy technologies." (U.S.-Arab Economic Forum 2008 Strategic Partners) and also as a "...$1 billion venture capital company, which invests in electrical power generation in China, South Korea, Taiwan, Tunisia and U.A.E." (The Arab American News: May 16, 2008).  
•  QGEN itself is described as a "U.S.-based technology-driven global developer, owner and operator of utility-scale power generation and water desalination projects."  It is also stated that "QGEN's track record spans projects in the Middle East, North Africa and Asia (EuroInvestor: QGEN press release)."

SUMMARY

BTU Ventures, BTU Industries and QGEN all make strikingly similar claims regarding their industry focus, expertise, and track record.  Part of the reason for these similarities may become evident in the section of this blog titled "Control."

The Hayat litigation (Amended Complaint) further claims in paragraph 35, that "After freezing out Hayat, Al-Mazeedi and Oishi began to form their own parallel set of companies that had no subsidiary relationship to Holdings, to carry out the business of the BTU Group."

CONCLUSION
QGEN's current 3-page website provides few details regarding its provenance.

The mantle of "developer, owner, and operator of utility-scale power generation and desalination projects" (or something similarly worded) is claimed by BTU Ventures, BTU Industries, and QGEN.  Similarly, the "track record" spanning projects in the Middle East, North Africa and Asia, presumably referring to TAPCO (United Arab Emirates), CPC (Tunisia), and Asia (Meiya Power Company), respectively, is also apparently claimed by the same companies.

There is documented evidence that BTU Power Company acquired ownership stakes in two projects (CPC and Meiya Power Company) previously DEVELOPED, OPERATED, and OWNED by PSEG Global and its partners. There is also some evidence that BTU Power Company participated in a "Marubeni-led Consortium" that acquired an ownership interest in TAPCO.  There is documented evidence that BTU Power Company sold-off its ownership interest in Meiya Power Company approximately 3.5 years ago.  That is as far as the "evidence" goes....so, then, what is QGEN?