Sakuu Corporation
Sakuu Corporation and Plum Acquisition Corp. I, have announced that they have entered into a definitive business combination agreement, providing for a merger that will result in Sakuu becoming a publicly traded company.
Upon the closing of the proposed transaction, the combined company will be renamed Sakuu Holdings Inc. and is expected to be listed on a US national exchange under the ticker symbol “SAKU”. The transaction implies an enterprise value of approximately 705 million USD, according to Sakuu.
The proposed transaction is anticipated to result in gross proceeds of approximately 100 million USD in cash to the company’s post-combination balance sheet after the payment of transaction expenses, even in a 96% redemption scenario, through a combination of private and trust capital, including from structured debt and equity solutions, secured debt, and Plum Acquisition Corp. I’s cash in trust, according to the press release announcing the deal.
Funds from the transaction are expected to fully support Sakuu through its commercialisation process. The company’s current equity holders are expected to own approximately 80% of the pro forma company.
Sakuu and Plum say that the transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of 2023, and remains subject to approval by Plum stockholders representing a majority of the outstanding Plum voting power, the effectiveness of a registration statement to be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in connection with the transaction, the expiration of the HSR Act waiting period and other customary closing conditions.
Sakuu says that the boards of directors of both companies have unanimously approved the transaction.
Sakuu Founder and Chief Executive Officer Robert Bagheri said: “Since 2016, our talented team, with deep and diverse industry expertise, has worked diligently to develop Kavian, along with our next-generation battery products. We are not a concept company, we have successfully and consistently printed high-performance batteries since December 2022 and, with this progress, we have entered the first stages of commercialisation. With this proposed merger, the strong support of the exceptional leadership team at Plum, and our dedicated investors, we feel Sakuu is well-positioned to create a paradigm shift in complex manufacturing, starting first with batteries.”
Plum Acquisition Chairwoman Ursula Burns said: “I’ve always been fascinated by fundamental changes in approach that unlock significant value in otherwise incrementally evolving industries. Sakuu represents an opportunity for such a fundamental step change in manufacturing through its high-volume, multi-material, additive manufacturing Kavian platform, something that has impressed even a printing industry veteran like me.
“Solid-state batteries, and the massive addressable market associated with it, could just be Act 1 for the Company. We believe its technology has already allowed it to leapfrog many more highly capitalised battery suppliers. Plum is honoured and excited to partner with Sakuu for its long-term journey in the public markets."
Sakuu, founded in 2016, is commercialising next-generation lithium metal batteries and Li-metal solid-state batteries to be mass produced with proprietary multi-material, multi-process additive manufacturing technologies. With its SwiftPrint solid-state batteries, created on its Kavian additive manufacturing platform, Sakuu says that it aims to solve fundamental challenges that impede commercial-scale production of solid-state batteries.
Bagheri added: “The arrival of transformative additive manufacturing will have profound implications across global legacy manufacturing. Our high-volume Kavian solution for printing batteries can potentially leap-frog decades of manufacturing stagnation. We believe Kavian is the only known solution for producing heavily in demand products, such as solid-state batteries, that can be custom-printed rapidly and cost-effectively, taking next generation battery manufacturing to realms never imagined.”
Sakuu recently announced the successful 3D printing of fully functional high-performance patterned batteries, printed at the company's Silicone Valley pilot line facility.
