Solid Power Inc, an electric-vehicle battery maker backed by Ford Motor Co and BMW, said on Tuesday it would go public by merging with a blank check firm in a deal that values the combined entity at around $1.2bn (roughly R16,549,644,000).
The company, which produces rechargeable batteries for automobiles and mobile power markets, will have $600m (roughly R8,274,822,000) in cash after completing the merger with Decarbonization Plus Acquisition Corp III.
That includes $165m (roughly R2,275,576,050) from private investors including Koch Strategic Platforms, Riverstone Energy Limited, Neuberger Berman funds and Van Eck Associates Corporation.
Ford and BMW had last month participated in Solid Power's $135m (roughly R1,861,834,950) early stage financing round.
Shares of the special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) were up 3.3% premarket.
SPACs are publicly listed shell companies that raise funds intending to merge with private companies to take them public.
Electric-vehicle makers including Lucid Motors, Fisker Inc and Nikola Corp went public through SPAC mergers or have announced plans for the same over the past year. Volkswagen AG-backed battery maker QuantumScape Corp went public through a blank check merger in a $3.3bn (roughly R45,490,500,000) deal in 2020.
The transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter, after which Solid Power would be listed on the Nasdaq under the new ticker symbol "SLDP".
Stifel, Nicolaus & Co Inc is serving as a financial adviser to Solid Power, while Citigroup Global Markets Inc and J.P. Morgan Securities LLC advised DCRC.
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