Sakuu goes public in $705m deal
3D printing solid state battery pioneer Sakuu is to go public in a deal with a special acquisition vehicle led by the former CEO of Xerox.
The deal with Plum Acquisition Corp I values the business at $705m, raising $100m as part of the deal, including structured debt and equity, secured debt and cash from Plum.
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Sakuu has existing purchase orders totalling over USD $300 million in 2023-2025 and has contracted with a network of key material suppliers, with next-generation lithium metal SwiftPrint batteries coming to market later this year.
Sakuu has also developed a proprietary mix of battery chemistry solutions that it plans to license in conjunction with its Kavian manufacturing platform to enable cost-effective manufacture of lithium metal batteries for industries including e-mobility, grid energy storage, aerospace and electric vehicles.
“I’ve always been fascinated by fundamental step changes in approach that unlock significant value in otherwise incrementally evolving industries,” said Plum Chairwoman Ursula Burns.
“Sakuu represents an opportunity for such a fundamental step change in manufacturing through its high-volume, multi-material, additive manufacturing Kavian platform – something that has impressed even a printing industry veteran like me. Solid-state batteries, and the massive addressable market associated with it, could just be Act 1 for the Company. We believe its technology has already allowed it to leapfrog many more highly capitalized battery suppliers. “
Plum is led by Ursula Burns, former CEO and Chairwoman of Xerox and board member at Uber, ExxonMobil, MIT, and the Ford Foundation. She will remain chair with Sakuu founder Robert Bagheri remaining Chief Executive Officer once the transaction closes in the third quarter of 2023.
“Our high-volume Kavian solution for printing batteries can potentially leap-frog decades of manufacturing stagnation. We believe Kavian is the only known solution for producing heavily in-demand products, such as solid-state batteries, that can be custom-printed rapidly and cost-effectively—taking next-generation battery manufacturing to realms never imagined,” said Bagheri.
“We are not a concept company. We have successfully and consistently printed high-performance batteries since December 2022 and, with this progress, we have entered the first stages of commercialization. With this proposed merger, the strong support of the exceptional leadership team at Plum, and our dedicated investors, we feel Sakuu is well-positioned to create a paradigm shift in complex manufacturing, starting first with batteries.”
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