Subsea Miner DeepGreen to Go Public Via $2.9 Billion SPAC Deal

DeepGreen Metals, an EV battery metals maker, said on Thursday that it will be acquired by blank-check firm Sustainable Opportunities Acquisition Corp in a $2.9 billion deal.

The deal will consist of a $330 million private investment from investors along with Allseas, adding to the list of existing strategic investors such as Maersk Supply Service and Glencore.

Vancouver-based DeepGreen intends to produce metals from polymettalic rocks, found in deep oceans, for use in batteries that will power electric vehicles.

The company’s partners include Danish shipping company Maersk and Swiss offshore drilling company Allseas Group SA.

Sustainable, a so-called special purpose acquisition company (SPAC), raised $300 million in an initial public offering in May last year.

SPACs are shell companies which raise funds to pursue an acquisition at a later date. It serves as an alternative to a traditional IPO for companies looking to enter public markets.

The combined entity will be listed under the new ticker symbol “TMC”.

Nomura Greentech and Citi are the financial advisors to DeepGreen and Sustainable respectively.

(Reporting by Sohini Podder and Rithika Krishna; Editing by Shailesh Kuber)