Cypriot energy player looks to draw Gulf capital into the East Med - THE NATIONAL

July 11, 2019 06:47 PM

Jennifer Gnana

Exclusive: Cynergy is looking to raise up to $500 million from the region to consolidate stranded gas assets and stunted infrastructure in the basin

Cyprus-based Cynergy Group, an investment firm focused on the energy sector, is lobbying investors in the Arabian Gulf including sovereign wealth funds to raise as much as $500 million (Dh1.83 billion) that will be part of $10bn raised from a pool of investors used to consolidate Eastern Mediterranean gas assets.

“[The] Gulf can play an important collaborative role in bringing East Med [and] Middle Eastern assets together through Cyprus, so I’m looking at the potential of Abu Dhabi and other Gulf interests looking at employing $500m plus,” Cynergy co-founder and group chief executive Mike Germanos told The National in Abu Dhabi.

Obscure Cypriot Plots $10 Billion Bet on East Med Gas - YAHOO FINANCE / BLOOMBERG

May 23, 2019Yaacov Benmeleh

A little-known investor group is planning a major shakeup of the Eastern Mediterranean natural gas industry in a bid to unlock hundreds of billions of dollars of sales stymied by the political and industrial complexities of the region.

Cynergy Group, an investment firm based in Cyprus, is looking to spend between $5 billion and $10 billion in the coming years buying under-utilized natural gas assets in the region, according to Chief Executive Officer Mike Germanos. The company is in talks with “some of the most respected global family offices, private equity firms and sovereign funds” about raising the cash, he said.

Germanos declined to give the names of his associates or the assets he’s targeting, citing the sensitive nature of the period before Cynergy provides a formal offer. He said the firm is in the final stages of putting its bid together, which it will reveal by mid-June.

Significant quantities of natural gas have been found off the coasts of Egypt, Israel and Cyprus over the past decade, which has united regional governments in the hope of developing an energy hub in the East Med. Still, companies have struggled to overcome longstanding political and legal hurdles and find viable export markets, leaving many investors to question whether these firms can realize the region’s full potential.

To overcome these hurdles, Germanos assembled a team of veteran oil, gas and finance industry executives and political operatives. Lou Montilla, for example, leads Cynergy’s energy projects after almost two decades of experience in liquefied natural gas with BP Plc, Glencore Plc and Morgan Stanley. Joshua Hantman, a former adviser at Israel’s defense and foreign ministries, manages corporate affairs for the firm.