NEO Battery Materials Ltd., a low-cost silicon anode materials developer that enables longer-running, rapid-charging lithium-ion batteries, announces that the Company has increased its ownership of the South Korean subsidiary, NEO Battery Materials Korea Co., Ltd. (“NBM Korea”), through a Share Purchase Agreement (the “Agreement”) with Automobile & PCB Inc (“A&P”).
NEO acquired 258,829 Common Shares of NBM Korea from A&P for an aggregate purchase price of $1,708,707 CAD (the “Transaction”). Preceding the Transaction, the Company directly held 776,487 Common Shares of NBM Korea, representing 60% of the issued and outstanding shares of NBM Korea, and following the closing, NEO now directly holds 1,035,316 Common Shares, representing 80% of the issued and outstanding shares of NBM Korea. The Transaction has closed on January 29, 2024.
Considering recent technological advancements and breakthroughs at the R&D Scale-Up Centre in South Korea, the Board of Directors has unanimously resolved that acquiring the Common Shares of NBM Korea was mandatory to serve the Company’s best interests. Greater ownership will effectively translate into expanded proportions of short- and long-term value creation/realization and future cash flows for NEO’s shareholders.
Furthermore, NBM Korea is actively discussing with several South Korean venture capital and institutional funds for further expansion and scale-up funding for the silicon anode business and value-enhancing battery technology projects. Accredited last October, NBM Korea’s Innovative Growth Venture Enterprise Certification has enabled institutional investors to participate in NBM Korea’s offerings due to the rigorous due diligence completed by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups of South Korea. In the long term, management intends to publicly offer or list NBM Korea’s Common Shares in the South Korean stock exchange.
