Powermers Smart Industries to go public via $2 bln SPAC deal (updated)

OCA Acquisition

22/12/2023 15:14

(Adds more details throughout)
       Dec 22 (Reuters) - 
    Commercial transportation and industrial equipment maker
Powermers Smart Industries (PSI) has agreed to go public in the
U.S. through a merger with a blank-check firm in a deal valued
at about $2 billion, the companies said on Friday.
  
    The deal with OCA Acquisition Corp  OCAX.O  includes a
committed investment of up to $8 million into PSI and an
additional private investment in public equity (PIPE) of $2
million.   
    Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs), also called
blank-check firms, use proceeds from their initial public
offerings (IPO) to merge with private firms. Such mergers allow
the private firms to sidestep a lengthy IPO process to list
their shares on bourses.
    Blank check mergers have, however, become less popular after
coming under scrutiny from the U.S. Securities and Exchange
Commission (SEC) after a frenzy of deals in 2020 and early 2021
sparked concerns that some investors are getting a raw deal.
    The New York-based firm's intellectual property portfolio
includes patents around the safety and performance of
lithium-ion batteries and other energy storage devices.
    The deal is expected to close in 2024, following which the
combined company will operate as 'Powermers Smart Industries'
and trade on Nasdaq under the ticker symbol "PSII".

 (Reporting by Arasu Kannagi Basil in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil
D'Silva and Tasim Zahid)
 ((ArasuKannagi.Basil@thomsonreuters.com;))