A power play for Rats owner
Written on January 26, 2010 by admin
COLONIE — Walter Robb may be trying to sell the River Rats hockey team, but when it comes to MTI MicroFuel Cells Inc., he’s buying.
Robb, the former head of GE Global Research in Niskayuna, has long been a supporter of MTI Micro, which is developing a methanol-power fuel cell for use in handheld electronics such as cell phones. He sits on the company’s board and that of its parent company, Mechanical Technology Inc., also of Colonie.
He’s also provided financial assistance to the company, which has been running low on cash as it speeds toward commercialization of its first product, called Mobion.
Robb now has a plan by which he could acquire nearly half of MTI Micro, according to a filing made earlier this month with the Securities and Exchange Commission. His current stake is roughly 30 percent after buying 2.3 million shares and additional warrants for a total price of $165,000 on Jan. 11.
The deal was made with Counter Point Ventures Fund II L.P., a venture capital fund managed by Robb that is co-owned with General Electric Co., according to the SEC filing. But GE officials said Tuesday rather than being a co-ownership, the relationship is an investment.
Robb has an option to purchase 26 million more shares of MTI Micro as well as warrants over the next 12 months, which could raise an additional $1.8 million for the company. If that occurs, Robb would end up with 44.2 percent of MTI Micro, while Mechanical Technology would retain the rest.
Robb did not return a call seeking comment, and neither did Peng Lim, the chief executive officer of both Mechanical Technology and MTI Micro.
In addition to owning the River Rats, part of the American Hockey League, Robb also owns a management consulting firm called Vantage Management Inc. based in Niskayuna. He is also a member of the board of directors of Celgene Corp., a Summit, N.J., company developing cancer drugs. He previously sat on the board of Plug Power Inc., a Latham fuel cell company. He has been on the Mechanical Technology board since 1997.
The cash from Counter Point Ventures would come in handy for MTI Micro, which is no longer being funded by Mechanical Technology, which also has another subsidiary called MTI Instruments that makes precision test and measurement equipment used by the aerospace and semiconductor industries.
As of September, MTI Micro had less than $600,000 in cash available. More recent numbers are not yet available.
Larry Rulison can be reached at 454-5504 or by e-mail at lrulison@timesunion.com.
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