Cleary Gottlieb represented Artius Acquisition Inc. (Artius), a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC), in the completion of its business combination with Origin Materials that resulted in Origin Materials becoming a public company.
The combined company is named “Origin Materials Inc.” and is listed on the Nasdaq under the new ticker symbol “ORGN.”
The transaction was announced on February 17, 2021, and closed on June 25, 2021.
The transaction is valued at approximately $1 billion and supported by existing and new investors, including Danone, Nestlé Waters, PepsiCo, Mitsubishi Gas Chemical, and AECI, as well as certain funds and accounts managed by Sylebra Capital, Senator Investment Group, Electron Capital Partners, BNP Paribas AM Energy Transition Fund, and affiliates of Apollo. Origin Materials will use the proceeds to fund the company’s planned growth, including the completion and commissioning of its first commercial plant, which is expected to be operational in 2022, and of its second commercial plant, which is expected to be operational in 2025.
In connection with the business combination, Artius conducted a $200 million private placement of shares to various institutional investors and a $30 million backstop facility with certain funds managed by affiliates of Apollo Capital Management L.P.
Origin Materials is headquartered in West Sacramento, California, and is the world’s leading carbon negative materials company. Its mission is to enable the world’s transition to sustainable materials. Over the past 10 years, Origin Materials has developed a platform for turning the carbon found in nonfood biomass into useful materials, while capturing carbon in the process.
Artius is a company formed for the purpose of effecting a merger, share exchange, asset acquisition, share purchase, reorganization, or similar business combination with one or more businesses. It was co-founded by Boon Sim, the founder and managing partner of Artius Capital Partners LLC, and Charles Drucker, the former CEO of WorldPay Inc., a leading payments company, and its predecessor company, Vantiv Inc.
For more information, please see the press release here.