Published: March 9, 2021 |

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DeepGreen Metals has agreed to merge with Sustainable Opportunities Acquisition (SOAC) in a deal that values the combined company at $2.9 billion.

Based in Canada, DeepGreen Metals develops battery metals from seafloor polymetallic nodules.

Post-merger, the combined entity will be renamed as “TMC the metals company” and will operate as The Metals Company.

DeepGreen Metals has exploration and commercial rights to three polymetallic nodule contract areas across the Pacific Ocean’s Clarion Clipperton Zone, sponsored by the Nauru, Kiribati, and Tonga governments.

The exploration contract areas held by its subsidiaries are claimed to have enough resource for powering 280 million electric vehicles (EVs).

The combined company will be led by DeepGreen Metals chairman and CEO Gerard Barron.

“The reality is that the clean energy transition is not possible without taking billions of tons of metal from the planet. Seafloor nodules offer a way to dramatically reduce the environmental bill of this extraction,” said DeepGreen Metals Chairman and CEO Gerard Barron.

“We are getting into this industry with a deep commitment to ocean health and a clear stop date in mind. The plan is simple: produce better metals to supply the EV transition, while building up enough metal stock to stop extracting from the planet and enable society to live off recycled metals,” added Barron.

DeepGreen Metals’ process to produce metals from polymetallic nodules is claimed to involve near-zero solid waste, thereby removing the necessity for tailings dams on land.

The merger will provide it with the required capital to move towards a feasibility study and enable it to start earning revenue from at least 2024.

The deal includes a private investment in public equity (PIPE) of $330 million, priced at $10 per share. The PIPE investors include Allseas, Maersk Supply Service, Glencore, and certain strategic and institutional investors.

“Sourcing battery metals is the biggest hurdle facing the clean energy transition, and the pipeline of new mining projects on land is insufficient to meet rising demand,” said SOAC CEO Scott Leonard.

“We looked at over 100 companies, many of them in the EV and renewable energy space. DeepGreen stands above the rest. It offers a real, scalable solution to the raw materials problem, at a low production cost and with a significant reduction in the ESG footprint of metals,” added Leonard.

“Assuming full-scale production, we expect The Metals Company to be among the lowest cost nickel producers in the world,” said Leonard.

The deal will be subject to the approvals of both the firms’ shareholders and other customary closing conditions. It is anticipated to be finalized in Q2 2021.

Source: NS Energy

About DeepGreen
DeepGreen Metals Inc. is a Canadian developer of lower-impact battery metals from seafloor polymetallic nodules, on a dual mission: (1) supply metals for the clean energy transition with the least possible negative environmental and social impact and (2) accelerate the transition to a circular metal economy. The company through its subsidiaries holds exploration and commercial rights to three polymetallic nodule contract areas in the Clarion Clipperton Zone of the Pacific Ocean sponsored by the governments of Nauru, Kiribati and the Kingdom of Tonga, which areregulated by the International Seabed Authority. DeepGreen has developed a process for producing metals from polymetallic nodules with near-zero solid waste, eliminating the need for tailings dams on land.

To stop by DeepGreen’s website, CLICK HERE

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