Ford-backed battery maker to go public with $1.2 billion SPAC deal

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 $1.2 billion. The company, which produces rechargeable batteries for automobiles as well as mobile power markets, will have $600 million in cash after completing the merger with Decarbonization Plus Acquisition Corp III.

That includes $165 million from private investors such as 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 $135 million 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.

A string of 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 $3.3 billion deal in 2020.

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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.