Solar technology developer Heliogen became a publicly-traded company after the merger with special purpose acquisition company Athena Technology Acquisition Corp.
Athena stockholders have voted to approve the business combination.
The combined business – named Heliogen Inc – started trading on the New York Stock Exchange on December 31. Its common stock and warrants will trade under “HLGN” and “HLGNW,” respectively.
The merger was announced in July when the combined company’s initial enterprise value was approximately $2 billion. The deal would provide the combined company with gross proceeds of up to $415 million, including investor commitments to buy $165 million in stock through private investment in public equity (PIPE).
The PIPE is anchored by funds and accounts managed by Counterpoint Global (Morgan Stanley), Salient Partners, Saba Capital, and the XCarb Innovation Fund of ArcelorMittal.
Heliogen develops AI-enabled concentrated solar technology, which concentrates the sun’s rays into heat with temperatures exceeding 1,000 degrees C – used in industry, power generation, or hydrogen fuel production.
“Powering the planet with renewable energy is not only critical to fighting climate change – it is also the biggest economic opportunity in history. The capital raised in this transaction will fund our accelerated growth and help us to globally scale our game-changing AI-enabled concentrated solar power technology. We believe we have the potential to transform the world’s energy production and meaningfully address climate change while delivering long-term stakeholder value,” commented Bill Gross, Founder and Chief Executive Officer at Heliogen.
The transaction resulted in approximately $188 million of cash to Heliogen’s balance sheet, comprised of both funds from ATHN’s former trust account and private investment in public equity (PIPE).
Heliogen will use the proceeds to scale heliostat manufacturing, support research and development efforts on next-generation heliostat technology, support global project development, and fund the balance sheet.
Cohen & Company Capital Markets (a division of J.V.B. Financial Group) served as financial advisor to Athena. Barclays acted as a financial advisor to Heliogen. Cohen & Company Capital Markets served as placement agent to Athena. DLA Piper (US) served as legal advisor to Athena. Cooley acted as a legal advisor to Heliogen.
Heliogen has raised $108 million in funding to accelerate the global deployment of its sunlight refinery technology. According to Mercom’s funding report, solar public market financing activity in 9M 2021 was 209% higher, with $6.3 billion raised to $2 billion in 9M 2020.
