Rothschild's Carbon Ring Consortium and Carbon Ring Pty Limited

1991 "In searching for a new enemy to unite us, we came up with the idea that pollution, the threat of global warming, water shortages, famine and the like would fit the bill."
- Club of Rome 1991

July 6, 2007 David Rothschild's says he and his family (that own half of the world's wealth) have no plans for a global carbon dioxide (what we breath out) tax. Ow that's good news, no tax on breathing. Plants that breath in carbon dioxide will be happy as well...or will they...

April 21, 2009 Whoops, the same Rothschild family are setting up carbon tax "banks" here in Australia and abroad!!

Flashback: Rothschild Launches Carbon Credit Investment Fund

Rothschild Australia and Australia-based environmental group E3 International have launched a fund which will allow highly polluting companies to offset their emissions by buying carbon credits from cleaner firms. With individual investments of no less than $100,000, the Consortium hopes to raise $2 million. It is expected that by June 2003 the carbon credits purchased will be ready for distribution among investors. - Rothschild, E3 Launch Carbon Credit Investment Fund, National Energy Technology Laboratory, Carbon Sequestration Newsletter, October 2002

Originally Published on September 3, 2002

Reuters - Billed as the first of its kind in the Asia-Pacific region and soon to be followed by other similar private investment vehicles, the Carbon Ring Consortium seeks to raise $2 million, with individual investors obliged to pay $100,000.

"With recent developments in international climate change policy, the question is no longer if, but when the global carbon trading market will emerge," said Richard Martin, chief executive officer of Rothschild Australia.

Rothschild said in a prospectus that the Carbon Ring Consortium would be open for investments until October 30. [See The Rothschilds: the First Barons of Banking]

It would be wrapped up in June 2003, when the carbon credits purchased will be distributed to investors pro rata.

Trading environmental credits is an emerging market designed to allow firms that fail to meet emissions standards to buy credits from other firms that undercut their targets.

The Kyoto accord signed by developing nations in the Japanese city of that name envisages some carbon credit trade between countries with so-called carbon sinks - forests - and others that produce higher levels of pollution than they are allowed to.

The same applies to companies, and a nascent market has already emerged in the United States where some states have limits on acid rain components like sulphur dioxide and others have limits on carbon dioxide emissions.

Greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide are blamed by many scientists for rising world temperatures.

The investment bank said it was estimated that the global carbon trading market could be worth up to $150 billion by 2012.

It said it looked increasingly likely that the 1997 Kyoto Protocol on reducing greenhouse gas emissions would be ratified by enough countries to come into effect, notwithstanding the decision of the United States and Australia to reject the accord.

The process of investing will involve workshops to allow investors to gain hands-on knowledge of the new market.

The unregistered, managed investment scheme will be the first in a series of private investment vehicles that Carbon Ring Pty Limited, a joint venture between Rothschild and E3 International, expects to launch in the coming years, the partners said.

Rothschild Australia to Take the Lead in the Global Carbon Trading Market

March 22, 2009

PR NewsWire - Rothschild Australia and E3 International are set to become key players in the international carbon credit trading market, an emerging commodity market that analysts estimate could be worth up to US$150 billion by 2012.

In a move that will re-shape the fledgling emissions trading market, Rothschild Australia and E3 International today announced their intention to launch the Carbon Ring Consortium — an investment vehicle that will provide companies in the Asia Pacific Region with an innovative way of learning about and understanding their risks in the new carbon market.

The Carbon Ring Consortium is the first of its kind in the Asia-Pacific Region, and is the first in a series of private investment vehicles that Carbon Ring Pty Ltd will launch in coming years.

Richard Martin, the chief executive officer of Rothschild Australia said:

“With recent developments in international climate change policy, the question is no longer if, but when the global carbon trading market will emerge. Rothschild Australia, through Carbon Ring, intends to be at the forefront of this market, providing private investment vehicles to companies seeking to offset their greenhouse gas emissions liabilities.” [See The Rockefellers, Obama and the Carbon Tax Scam]

The Carbon Ring Consortium allows companies with a future carbon liability to purchase a range of carbon credits and obtain a practical insight into the operation of this new market. Carbon credits will be bought from domestic and international projects that achieve a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. These carbon credits will be distributed pro rata to Consortium investors.

“The Carbon Ring Consortium is an important first step for Rothschild and for our clients,” said Mr. Martin.

“The Consortium should appeal to companies that are faced with a greenhouse liability and are significant users or producers of energy, such as electricity generators, heavy industrials, oil companies, major manufacturers or airlines, amongst many others.

“It provides investors with an opportunity to learn about the market through an investment in a low risk, low cost investment vehicle, created specifically to acquire a diverse range of carbon credits. Participants will also share in significant knowledge and intellectual property,” Mr. Martin said.

During its life, the Carbon Ring Consortium intends to purchase a range of carbon credits, in a range of jurisdictions and from a range of sources. In the process, the Consortium will expose investors to many of the most pressing issues that corporations will have to address if they are to participate in the emerging carbon market. It will also give investors a practical insight into the buying and selling of carbon credits in the present market, without the need to invest in significant trading infrastructure or to assume undue risk.

Mr. Martin believes that there are many reasons why an organisation would invest in the Consortium: gaining practical experience in an emerging market; offsetting their greenhouse gas emissions; hedging their investments in new infrastructure; or in response to the expectations of the public, customers or shareholders.

Craig Windram, the director of E3 International and a partner in Carbon Ring, said:

“A carbon liability brings with it considerable financial risk for organisations, and early planning to deal with this risk will add to an organisation’s competitive advantage — that’s where Carbon Ring comes in.

“Few companies have developed a practical understanding of the emerging carbon market. For companies on either side of the equation, as either buyers or sellers, the Carbon Ring Consortium will provide the opportunity to ‘learn by doing’. This experience will be vital in assisting businesses to formulate policy, to understand and identify their risks, and to demonstrate leadership in an area of growing public concern,” Mr. Windram said.

The Carbon Ring Consortium is an unregistered, managed investment scheme. Designed to be a tailored, limited-life vehicle, it will document the legal and accounting process involved in the purchase, settlement and distribution of various carbon credit assets.

Requiring an investment of US$100,000, with a portion returned to investors in the form of carbon credits, the Consortium is intended to provide investors with a low cost, low risk and structured entry into this new market.

About Rothschild

N M Rothschild & Sons has been at the centre of the world’s financial markets for more 200 years. Today, the firm is a global investment bank, which provides independent and quality advice to governments, corporations and individuals worldwide through a network of professionals in 40 offices across more than 30 countries. The firm employs 2,500 employees worldwide.

About E3

The E3 Group is a hybrid organisation dedicated to making the business case for sustainable development. It is part strategic management consultancy, part environmental think tank, part project developer and part investment manager.

The E3 Group comprises a number of companies that have developed around the business of sustainability. The Group includes a conventional consulting business, an environmental software company, a dedicated renewable energy project promoter and the Carbon Ring Consortium. The principal operating company in the group is E3 International Pty Limited, which is headquartered in Australia.

Carbon Advice Group Announces the Appointment of Oliver Rothschild

May 4, 2009

Press Release - Carbon Advice Group Plc is pleased to announce the appointment of Oliver Rothschild as its chairman. Matthew Sullivan, Founder and CEO of Carbon Advice Group, welcomed the appointment saying:

“We are delighted that Oliver Rothschild has agreed to join Carbon Advice Group Plc as Chairman. We believe that Oliver will bring significant experience and international credibility to the Board of Carbon Advice Group Plc as it rapidly extends its carbon offsetting services and network of environmental entrepreneurs across Europe and the United States”.

Oliver Rothschild said:

“Carbon Advice Group Plc provides a unique way of engaging individuals and businesses in combating climate change across borders and nationalities. I am pleased to join Carbon Advice Group Plc at such an exciting stage in the company’s growth. I look forward to the exciting challenges of the future and working with my colleagues at Carbon Advice Group Plc to ensure the company provides a quality service to justify the public’s continuing support”.

Continued Carbon Advice Group founder Matthew Sullivan:

“We want to motivate the average person in the street to get online, join our global network, build their own carbon offsetting website and get the message across to everyone they know”.

“Everyday we see, hear and read about the catastrophic effects of global climate change. We all know we need to do something, and we need to do it now. We believe the appointment of Oliver Rothschild will help Carbon Advice Group Plc get closer to achieving our objective of bringing carbon emissions reduction and offsetting into the mainstream,” Sullivan continued.

Wendy's Agrees to Sell Arby's to Private Equity Group

AFP
June 13, 2011

Wendy's/Arby's Group Inc. says it has agreed to sell a majority stake in its struggling Arby's brand to a private equity group.

The Atlanta company had put Arby's up for sale at the beginning of the year, saying it needed to focus on the better-performing Wendy's restaurants.

The buyer is a group led by Roark Capital Group, an Atlanta private equity firm that also owns Moe's Southwest Grill and Cinnabon.

The buyers are paying $130 million in cash for Arby's. In addition, the group will assume $190 million of Arby's debt, Wendy's/Arby's Group will keep an 18.5 percent stake in Arby's.

The companies value the overall deal at $430 million. That includes the debt being assumed, the value of the minority stake that Wendy's keeps and an $80 million income tax benefit for Wendy's.

The deal is expected to close in the third quarter.

Burger King, Franchisees Drop $1 Burger Lawsuit

Reuters
April 18, 2011

Burger King Corp's U.S. franchisees agreed to dismiss a lawsuit over $1 cheeseburgers, and will gain more power to set prices for the fast food restaurant chain's cheaper items.

The agreement, announced on Monday, comes as the Miami-based Burger King's new private-equity owners try to repair its historically contentious relationship with franchisees, who operate almost all of the restaurants for the world's second-biggest hamburger chain.

The National Franchisee Association (NFA), which represents Burger King franchisees, sued the company in 2009. Its main complaint was the company's decision to set the Value Menu price of its Double Cheeseburger at $1, a move operators said hurt profits.

Burger King's new policy gives franchisees more input on the price of items on its Value Menu and on how long special deals run, said Steve Wiborg, Burger King's president of North America. He declined to give more specifics.

"We saw this as an opportunity to resolve our differences and move forward," Wiborg told Reuters. "Our system is 90 percent franchised and it's important for our franchisees to win."

Wiborg was president and chief executive at Heartland Food Corp, one of Burger King's largest franchise operators, before taking his position at the company in October.

Burger King's new management has engaged franchisees in meaningful discussions and is listening to their concerns, said NFA Chairman Tony Versaci.

3G Capital bought Burger King in October for $3.26 billion and took it private.

At the end of 2010, there were 7,550 Burger King restaurants in the United States and Canada.

Fast-food chains like Burger King and bigger rival McDonald's Corp use low-priced food like $1 burgers to lure diners into restaurants. If those items are priced below costs, franchisees can suffer.

That is because franchisees pay royalties to the parent company based on overall sales. While $1 menu items can boost traffic and sales, restaurant operators can lose money if too many of those sales come from money-losing items.

Costs for ingredients such as beef, cheese, wheat and corn have spiked in recent months.