Renergen’s journey from big promises to a ‘bailout’ acquisition

On 20 May 2025, ASP Isotopes announced that it had agreed to buy Renergen. It took the market by surprise, and the Renergen share price spiked.

Renergen was founded in September 2014 and listed on the JSE in June 2015 as a special-purpose acquisition company (SPAC).

Its principal asset is its 100% shareholding in Tetra4, which holds petroleum production rights in South Africa.

The company’s Virginia Gas Project (VGP) is located in the Free State, approximately 250 km southwest of Johannesburg.

Its primary revenue source is liquefied natural gas (LNG), with prospects to generate revenue from liquid helium (LHe) and discontinued operations of compressed natural gas (CNG).

Renergen informed the market that its Phase 1 expansion would produce 350 kg of helium per day and 2,500 GJ of LNG per day.

Phase 1 was expected to be completed by March 2022 and to start commercial production by June 2022.

The phase 2 target was to produce 5,000 kg of helium per day and 24,400 GJ of LNG per day. It should have been producing gas by 2025.

Renergen set these targets and attracted tremendous investment interest. By the end of 2022, the share price had grown to over R40 per share.

Fast forward to today, and Renergen has not yet completed phase 1 of its plant. It has missed virtually every single target it set itself and has disappointed investors time and time again.

Renergen reported that it produced 5,088 tons of LNG for the trailing 12 months ending February 2025.

This is far off from its Phase 1 annual target of 18,948 tons, which it said it would reach by 2022. It is even further away from the 171,237 tons annual LNG target it set for phase 2 in 2025.

Missed financial targets

Renergen also informed investors that it would generate between R5.7 billion and R6.2 billion in EBITDA by 2027.

Renergen has failed to reach these ambitious targets. In the latest financial year, Renergen reported an EBITDA figure of -R165 million.

This means that Renergen made a loss even after adding back its depreciation and amortisation expenses.

No helium

Most of Renergen’s value sits in its promise to produce large quantities of helium. However, its financial results have not shown any sales of helium to date.

One month after its financial year ended in February 2025, Renergen stated that it sold helium to a customer.

As it was in March, the month immediately following the end of the financial year, Renergen did not provide any sales figures or additional information regarding the helium sale.

Renergen CEO Stefano Marani told Zunaid Suleman in an August 2024 interview that Renergen was producing and selling helium. However, this did not show in its financial statements.

Marani said in August 2024, “We’ve now finally managed to get the helium module on, we’re producing liquid helium, we are putting it in our customers’ tanks.”

This confused investors because Renergen only reported in March 2025 that it filled its first customer’s tank with helium.

ASP Isotopes acquisition and Stefano Marani’s future

Renergen recently announced that it intends to sell 100% of its shares to ASP Isotopes (ASPI), a company listed on the Nasdaq with its primary operations in Pretoria.

All Renergen shareholders will receive 0.09196 ASPI shares for every 1 Renergen share. If the deal proceeds, Renergen will delist from the JSE, A2X and the ASX.

Renergen shareholders will become shareholders of ASP Isotopes, with Renergen as its wholly owned subsidiary. ASPI will have a secondary listing on the JSE.

Renergen will share another announcement by the end of May 2025 with further details. Its delisting will likely occur before its next results date.

ASP Isotopes CEO Paul Mann stated that the company is planning to list on the JSE in early August and then settle the Renergen transaction in mid-August.

Shareholders will vote on the issue in late June or early July. He believes shareholders are likely to approve the transaction, as Renergen’s only alternative would be to enter business rescue.

He also said that under ASP Isotopes, Renergen will reach its full potential by 2026 and be profitable.

Mann said Renergen CEO Stefano Marani will remain with ASP Isotopes. However, he will move from Renergen and become the CEO of its newly formed “Space and Electronics” division.

It appears that Marani will no longer be involved with Renergen and will leave the company before meeting any of the production targets he set for the company.

Analyst opinion

Protea Capital Management founder and CEO Jean Pierre Verster said Renergen was in a lot of trouble and that this deal could be seen as a bailout.

Speaking to Business Day TV, Verster said Renergen shareholders will receive shares in ASP Isotopes instead of cash.

He described ASP Isotopes as a ‘pre-revenue opportunity’, which comes with significant risks and potential upside.

“This is a very early-stage company. They have a concept, but they still have to prove the concept,” Verster said.

Their basic concept is enriching isotopes, which will primarily be used in the medical, semiconductor and green energy sectors.

“ASP Isotopes’ process has not been proven. It is a similar opportunity to Renergen three or four years ago,” he said.

“It is pre-revenue. There are a lot of promises. If the promises are fulfilled, it could be a big opportunity. If the promises are not fulfilled, it could be a big disappointment.”