(Reuters) – Battery maker Amprius Technologies Inc is going public by merging with a blank-check firm in a deal that values it at $939 million, the companies said on Thursday.
Founded in 2008, Fremont, California-based Amprius produces silicon anodes for lithium-ion batteries. The company says its cells provide more energy and power with much less weight and volume.
The deal with Kensington Capital Acquisition Corp IV will fetch $430 million in proceeds for the combined entity, which will list on the New York Stock Exchange after the deal closes in the second half of this year.
Of the $430 million, $200 million will be raised as part of an additional equity financing and the rest will be provided by the special-purpose acquisition company’s (SPAC) trust account.
A rout in equity markets, declining investor interest in SPACs and tougher scrutiny from the U.S. securities regulator have in recent months forced several companies to cancel blank-check deals.
Even the companies that have successfully closed deals such as BuzzFeed Inc and Virgin Orbit Holdings Inc have been torpedoed by investor withdrawals.
SPACs are listed shell firms that use the capital raised from an initial public offering to clinch a go-public deal with a private company.
(Reporting by Niket Nishant in Bengaluru; Editing by Aditya Soni)
