San Diego, California's ultracapacitor-based energy storage manufacturer Maxwell Technologies has signed a US$47 million stock purchase agreement with China’s SFIC Fund Management – a significant investor in China’s energy storage industry – at US$6.32 per share.
The transaction is expected to close in Q3 2017, and will bring around US$46.6 million in cash to Maxwell, as well as wider access to China’s largest automotive battery companies. It will also deepen the company’s existing China localisation strategy in the energy storage market.
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Following the closing of the transaction, SDIC will have a 19.9% ownership stake in Maxwell’s total issued and outstanding shares of common stock on a pre-issuance basis. Further, as part of the agreement, SDIC will be subject to an 18-month lock-up period following the closing of the transaction, and will have the right to appoint a representative to Maxwell’s board of directors, providing the appointment is made no later than one business day following the company’s Annual Meeting of Shareholders.
“This strategic investment by SDIC Fund Management greatly strengthens our position in multiple areas,” said Franz Fink, Maxwell's president and CEO. “SDIC Fund Management's investment allows us to sufficiently invest in strategic technology development as well as expand our collaboration in Asia, targeting China as one of the largest and fastest growing energy storage markets. Their expertise and resources in the new energy market in China will assist us in accelerating several of our strategic initiatives to make us a much stronger global competitor.
“The funding will also help foster significant partnerships with industry leaders in automotive and energy storage and positions us to capitalize on the unprecedented upside dry electrode opportunity. This is a great win for our shareholders, partners, customers, and employees.”
“We are delighted to partner with Maxwell Technologies,” said Gao Guohua, chairman of SDIC Fund Management. “We conducted comprehensive diligence, concluding that Maxwell has a world-class team with the vision and sound strategy needed to leverage their innovative dry electrode technology. We believe this technology has the potential to transform energy storage, addressing a substantial market opportunity, especially in China. We are excited about Maxwell's future growth prospects and the value that each party brings to this new alliance.”
Read David Lentsch of Maxwell Technologies' guest blog for Energy-Storage.News, Pure-play battery or hybrid grid energy storage?
