Ares Acquisition Corporation (NYSE:AAC) has dropped its pre-money valuation of its target company X-energy about -14.2% as a part of a deal revision announced this morning.
The parties noted they believe that bringing down X-energy’s price tag from $2.1 billion to $1.8 billion will provide a more attractive entry point for investors and provide a better opportunity for long-term value creation.
X-energy shareholders still stand to earn up to 25,000,000 shares in an earnout if it hits price hurdles of $12.50 and $15 post-close. And, the changes may also make further fundraising efforts easier.
The two sides also provided an update this morning that they have secured $148 million in committed financing to date, which goes well beyond the $45 million PIPE that Ares declared at announcement and also clears the transaction’s $120 million minimum cash condition.
But, the company looks like it is going to need the extra cash. X-energy has developed technology for small modular nuclear reactors and has been developing plans to deploy its first major project at a Dow (NYSE:DOW) plant in Texas.
It now estimates that this project will cost between $4.75 billion and $5.75 billion to complete and X-energy will be on the hook for 15% to 17.5% of this amount. At the high end, this would mean a little over $1 billion, but the company expects to generate about $2.35 billion from the facility over the life of the plant.
That capex also includes the construction of a facility to manufacture its proprietary TRISO-X nuclear fuel, which would set it up to continue the business model with other projects.
For now, the company is continuing to refine its plans ahead of its submission of an ARDP construction permit with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The parties initially announced the deal in December.
TechyBird Acquisition Corp. (NASDAQ:TKBD) filed for a $60 million IPO today, putting it in line to become the second 2023 IPO from an underwriter that is relatively new to the SPAC space. That underwriter, Spartan Capital Securities, brought Aimei Health Technology (NASDAQ:AFJK) to market last week with similar terms as this new member to its...
Blue Room Acquisition Corp. (NASDAQ:IBLUU) submitted its S-1 filing this morning for a $200 million IPO. The new SPAC has set its sights on targets in the financial sector, ranging in market value between $250 million and $500 million, and primarily situated in the U.S. Its primary objective is to identify an innovative company leveraging...
Perception Capital Corp IV (NYSE:RCFA) has entered into a definitive agreement to combine with mining firm Blue Gold for $114.5 million in equity consideration. London-based Blue Gold has been developed as a platform to acquire gold mining assets in Ghana. The combined company is expected to trade on the NYSE once the deal is completed...
Zalatoris II Acquisition Corp.(NASDAQ: ZLS) has entered into a definitive agreement to combine with modular construction company Eco Modular at an enterprise value of $600 million. Dublin, Ireland-based Eco Modular uses modular construction techniques that allows it to build ecologically clean and sustainable buildings while saving energy and time. The combined company is expected to trade...
This week, we speak with iLearningEngine’s CEO Harish Chidambaran and Matt Safaii, Chairman and CEO of Arrowroot Acquisition Corp. (Nasdaq: ARRW). The two announced a $1.4 billion deal in April. AI may be the major buzzword of 2023, but iLearningEngines has been working on AI tools since 2010. Now, it hopes to use a SPAC transaction as its next step....