Stardust Power to Go Public Via $490M SPAC Deal
Stardust Power Inc., a manufacturer of battery-grade lithium products with a $490 million enterprise value, and Global Partner Acquisition Corp. II, a publicly traded special purpose acquisition company (SPAC), have entered an agreement for a business combination to take Stardust Power public.
The company will be listed on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol “SDST.” The deal is expected to be completed during the first half of 2024.
Stardust Power’s existing owners and management will roll 100% of their interests into the combined company.
Stardust Power plans to construct a lithium refinery in Greater Tulsa, OK, designed for production of up to 50,000 metric tons of battery-grade lithium annually. The company has secured 66 acres for the refinery.
Demand for lithium is expected to increase by approximately 5,700% by 2030, according to the company, as lithium-ion batteries will be needed to power those vehicles, citing a report from Benchmark Mineral Intelligence.
“Stardust Power aims to solve one of the largest challenges of the energy transition – reliable access to the critical minerals that will make the transition a reality,” said Roshan Pujari, CEO of Stardust Power.
The IEA estimates that up to 85% of worldwide lithium resources are currently sent to China for refining into battery-grade lithium, while minimal refining capacity currently exists in the U.S.
GPAC II is led by executives of Antarctica Capital, an international investment firm headquartered in New York with assets under management of approximately $1.5 billion as of December 31, 2022.
Pictured: Preliminary rendering of Oklahoma lithium refinery
