SES completes merger with ‘Ivanhoe’ to complete SPAC listing at NYSE

Liquid metal battery firm SES AI Corporation or ‘SES’ has declared that it has closed the business combination of SES Holdings and Ivanhoe Capital Acquisition Corp or ‘Ivanhoe’, a Special Purpose Acquisition Vehicle(SPAC). The quest for this acquisition was announced previously and now it stands complete. With this, SES is listed on the New York Stock Exchange. SES is a lithium-metal battery startup backed by leading carmakers including Honda, Hyundai, and GM. Lithium metal technology is being seen as a possible breakthrough as son as safety issues linked to the battery are sorted. The energy density of these batteries can be twice as high as Lithium ion batteries that dominate currently, offering huge upsides on both vehicle costs and weight on success.

It has been announced by SES that this very transaction was approved by Ivanhoe shareholders on the first day of February at a valuation of $3.4 billion. In connection with the transaction, Ivanhoe the SPAC was renamed ‘SES AI Corporation. The Class A common stock and warrants of SES has begun trading on the New York Stock Exchange under new symbols.

SES’s founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Qichao Hu said, “Today marks a significant milestone for us. The capital raised through this transaction is expected to provide SES with the necessary proceeds to continue accelerating its growth and fund key development initiatives. Key partnerships with world-class automakers strengthen the commercialization of SES’ technology and help position it to emerge as a leading global Li-Metal battery supplier.”

Hu also maintained that his company expects to deliver strong value for all the internal and external stakeholders over time as the organisation continues to execute on its development and production plans to bring next generation lithium ion battery technology to global EV manufacturers.

An upsized $275 million common stock PIPE offering priced at $10.00 per share also closed on February 3 immediately prior to the closing of the business combination. The PIPE investors include multiple industry leading OEMs and strategic partners as well as premier financial investors such as Honda Motor, General Motors, Hyundai, Geely Holding Group, Kia Corporation, SAIC Motor, Koch Strategic Platforms, LG Technology Ventures and many more.

SES was founded in 2012 and quickly emerged as an integrated Li-Metal battery manufacturer with strong capabilities in material, cell, module, AI-powered safety algorithms and recycling. The company is headquartered in Boston and has operations in Singapore, Shanghai and Seoul.