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Jul 13, 2021 - Economy & Business

Battery startup SES to go public in $3.6 billion SPAC deal

Ben Geman
Illustration of a woman's hand holding a lightbulb with a dollar sign for the filament

Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios

The lithium-metal battery startup SES just announced it's going public via merging with the special purpose acquisition company Ivanhoe Capital Acquisition Corp. at an implied valuation of $3.6 billion.

Why it matters: SES, which spun out of MIT nearly a decade ago, is backed by investors including General Motors and Hyundai in a sign of how big automakers are investing in battery tech and future supply.

Driving the news: The deal is expected the provide SES with up to $476 million in proceeds to fund its expansion, the announcement states.

  • Backers of the new transaction include those automakers I mentioned above, as well as China's Geely Holding Group, Koch Strategic Platforms, LG Technology Ventures and several others.
  • The company says its "hybrid Li-Metal approach provides the superior energy density of Li-Metal via the proven manufacturing efficiencies of lithium-ion batteries."
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