Ambri Agrees to Terms of Proposed Sale with Lender Consortium
May 06 2024 - 1:05AM
Business Wire
Ambri Files for Chapter 11 Protection to
Facilitate Sale; Expects to Emerge as a Recapitalized and Stronger
Company in July
Ambri Is Operating as Usual and Remains Focused
on Developing Liquid Metal™ Batteries
Ambri, the provider of long-duration Liquid Metal™ battery
storage systems, today announced that it has agreed to the terms of
a stalking horse purchase agreement with a consortium of its
lenders (the "Lender Consortium"), pursuant to which the Lender
Consortium would acquire substantially all of the assets of the
Company, subject to higher and better bids from other parties
during an expedited sale process.
To facilitate the sale, Ambri has filed voluntary petitions for
reorganization under Chapter 11 in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for
the District of Delaware. The Company is seeking approval of the
proposed transaction pursuant to Section 363 of the U.S. Bankruptcy
Code, which will allow interested parties to submit higher or
better bids for the Company. In addition, the transaction is
subject to Bankruptcy Court approval, any regulatory or other
approvals that may be required by law, and other customary
conditions. Ambri currently expects to complete the process and
close a sale in the next several months.
Ambri has obtained commitments for debtor-in-possession ("DIP")
financing from the Lender Consortium, as well as consent to use
their cash collateral in accordance with an approved budget. This
financing is expected to fund its business throughout the sale
process, which is expected to be approved in July 2024. The Lender
Consortium also expects to fund additional amounts to the company
upon the closing of the sale if its bid is the winning bid, to
ensure that the recapitalized company has sufficient liquidity to
continue to drive the development of its technology
post-closing.
"Ambri continues to make progress on advancing cell technology
into its 3rd generation and moving towards its objective of
establishing a commercial business," said Dan Leff, Executive Chair
and President of Ambri. "We are taking steps to build on this
progress by strengthening our financial position and working with
our lenders to support our future success."
Mr. Leff added, "We appreciate the constructive engagement we've
had with our lenders to date, and we look forward to continuing to
work together towards the best path for the business and all our
stakeholders. We are also grateful to our employees for their
continued hard work and dedication. As we move forward, our team
remains focused on delivering a long-life, safe and low-degradation
battery system for long duration energy storage applications. We
look forward to completing the sale process and to charting a
healthy and successful next chapter for Ambri."
Ambri has filed a number of customary first day motions with the
U.S. Bankruptcy Court seeking authorization to support its
operations during the court-supervised sale process, including the
continued payment of employee wages and benefits without
interruption. The Company expects to receive Court approval for
these requests. Payments to vendors and suppliers for goods and
services provided after the filing date will be paid on normal
terms.
Additional Information
For access to court documents and other information about the
Chapter 11 case, please visit https://dm.epiq11.com
Advisors
Goodwin Proctor, LLP and Potter Anderson are serving as legal
counsel, Portage Point Partners is serving as restructuring advisor
and investment banker. Kirkland & Ellis and Morris Nichols are
legal counsel to the Lender Consortium.
About Ambri
Ambri’s Liquid Metal™ battery technology solves the world’s
biggest energy problems – fundamentally changing the way power
grids operate by increasing the contribution from renewable
resources and reducing the need to build traditional power plants.
Ambri’s long-duration energy storage solution is built for daily
cycling – even in extreme, harsh environments. With a lifespan of
20+ years with minimal fade, Ambri systems are not only extremely
reliable but also safe, as Ambri systems do not produce or emit any
gases and there is no possibility for thermal runaway. For more
information, visit www.ambri.com.
View source
version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240505671576/en/
For media enquiries and interviews: Adam Briggs
abriggs@ambri.com