SPACInsider

Carbon Revolution CEO Jake Dingle

Car enthusiasts have been bolting carbon fiber wheels onto high performance vehicles for years. But, the hitherto luxury add-on brings real benefits to vehicle weight and energy economy, both of which have a new importance in the age of EVs.

This week, we speak with Carbon Revolution CEO Jake Dingle. Carbon Revolution is working to scale up its carbon fiber wheel production to provide the wheels as a mass-produced staple in the industry.

It announced a $270 million combination with Twin Ridge Capital Acquisition Corp. (NYSE:TRCA) in November to accelerate these plans.

He describes the major business advantages in bumping up from the ASX to a US exchange and how the transaction has opened up new financing doors even while it is pending close.

 

Critical Metals Chairman Tony Sage

With lithium supply for EVs and other batteries tight and much of it coming with geopolitical baggage, one new SPAC deal is looking to put forward a lithium stock with less baggage.

Australia and Frankfurt-listed miner European Lithium (ASX:EUR) announced an $838 million deal in October to spin off its Wolfsberg lithium mine in Austria in a combination with Sizzle Acquisition Corp. The new Nasdaq-listed entity called Critical Metals would represent a pure Europe-based lithium mining play that already has offtake and processing agreements in hand.

This week, we speak with Critical Metals Chairman Tony Sage, who tells us how he expects the bump up to the Nasdaq to generate value for the company and what key milestones Critical Metals has to watch for as it gets its lithium out of the mine and into batteries.

 

ZeroNox President and Co-Founder Robert Cruess

SPAC transactions have taken a variety of Electric Vehicle (EV) business models to the public markets.

ZeroNox brings another new approach to the EV story with its focus on retrofitting fleets of off-highway vehicles for sustainability.

This week, we speak with ZeroNox President and Co-Founder Robert Cruess and Yana Kakar, CEO of the Growth for Good Acquisition Corporation (Nasdaq: GFGD).

The pair announced a $306 million dollar combination in March. Yana explains why the off-highway segment of the EV market was attractive for the Growth for Good team.

And Robert notes how ZeroNox’s asset-light approach makes it a unique de-SPAC candidate in the EV space with more revenue generated to date than outside capital raised.

 

OpSec Security CEO Selva Selvaratnam

There are new things happening in brand security from the physical marks that track products through their supply chains to digital tools to prevent online piracy.

This week we speak with with Selva Selvaratnam, CEO of OpSec Security. It provides a variety of these services and it announced a $426 million combination with Investcorp Europe Acquisition Corp. I (NASDAQ:IVCB) in April.

Selva tells us how OpSec approaches cross-selling among its clients and how M&A plays into its efforts to expand EBITDA margins. And, how its SPAC deal could accelerate that path.

SilverBox Capital’s Stephen Kadenacy and Joe Reece

This week, we speak with Joe Reece and Stephen Kadenacy, from the SilverBox team. Joe and Stephen led the Boxwood Merger Corp. and SilverBox Engaged Merger Corp. I transactions, as well as recently priced the SilverBox Corp. III IPO.

We dig into their perspective, having priced SPACs in three very different market environments. Joe and Steve explain why and how they maintained their value priorities while IPOing their third SPAC in the difficult market of early 2023.

The pair also discuss the relative of advantages of having committed capital from forward purchase agreements at IPO versus the flexibility of diverse potential PIPE investors down the road.

What will the landscape look like once the SPAC cycle fully resets, and what does it take for a sponsor to bank a successful deal while the current macro conditions exist?

Give it a listen.

Sudhir Panikassery, Founder & CEO of Aeries Technology, and Daniel Webb, CEO/CFO of Worldwide Webb

SPACs have been searching hard for combination targets with lean balance sheets and strong cash flow. So, why not combine with a company that helps other companies develop lean balance sheets and strong cash flow?

Aeries Technology does just that, working frequently in conjunction with private equity firms to find efficiencies in their target companies amid a turnaround.

This week, we speak with Sudhir Panikassery, founder and CEO of Aeries. It announced a $391 million combination with Worldwide Webb Acquisition Corp in March.

Sudhir explains why sourcing clients through private equity firm partners has helped it maintain sticky retention while expanding its margins as it embeds its services deeper in company operations.

Daniel Webb, CEO and CFO of Worldwide Webb Acquisition Corp. (Nasdaq: WWAC), also joins to discuss why Aeries is a fit for the current climate and how they have structured the transaction to provide additional potential upside.

Bonus Episode: What’s Driving SPACs Offshore?

Between the various recent cases in the Delaware courts, such as Boxed, which involved the different SPAC voting classes, or the Multiplan case, or Arrival, all of which are in addition to the 1% excise tax on share buybacks, there has been a noticeable trend of SPACs moving to off-shore domiciles.

We spoke with Derek Dostal, from the law firm of Davis Polk, and Christian Nagler, from Kirkland & Ellis, to help explain these trends in greater detail and if the pending SEC proposal could affect some of these considerations going forward.

Give it a listen.

 

Greg Moran, Co-Founder and CEO of Zoomcar

Fighting for digital services market share in developed markets can be uphill sledding, but what if what you are offering has no legacy competitor to replace?

This week, we speak with Greg Moran, Co-Founder and CEO of Zoomcar. Zoomcar runs a ride-sharing marketplace in India, where traditional short-term rental options are rare and it announced a $456 million combination with Innovative International Acquisition Corporation (Nasdaq: IOAC) in October.

Greg explains how Zoomcar has quickly built a strong position in the market without heavy marketing spend, while still maintaining a 40% take-rate on rides rented through its platform.

He also lays out where Zoomcar is expanding to next, and how the proceeds of its SPAC deal will get it there.

 

Tim Sheehy, Founder and CEO of Bridger Aerospace

For better or worse, fighting fires is big business. This week, we speak with Tim Sheehy, Founder and CEO of Bridger Aerospace (NASDAQ:BAER).

Bridger operates a fleet of firefighting airplanes and support vehicles in the Western United States and it closed a combination with Jack Creek Investment Corporation on January 25^th.

Tim explains how this age-old business is built on steady government contracts, but its needs and sophistication are growing and why its SPAC merger gives Bridger some unique opportunities for consolidation in a space that has been structurally resistant to such changes.

Zapp Founder & CEO Swin Chatsuwan, and CIIG II Co-Ceo Gavin Cuneo

Whether you’re bullish on the North American EV car boom or not, there are exciting things happening on two wheels in Europe and Asia.

This week, we speak with Swin Chatsuwan, Founder and CEO of Zapp. Zapp has developed a line of electric motorcycles manufactured in Thailand that have some unique features, like being able to plug in anywhere.

To help fuel Zapp’s drive into European and Asian markets, it announced a $573 million dollar combination with CIIG Capital Partners II (Nasdaq:CIIG) in November.

CIIG II Co-CEO Gavin Cuneo also joins to discuss some of the key points of differentiation for Zapp in the market and why this differs from some of the first wave of EV SPAC deals we saw earlier in the cycle.