Reliance to acquire UK's battery tech provider Faradion for £100 million

Reliance Industries Limited announced on Friday that its solar unit, Reliance New Energy Solar Limited (RNESL), will buy sodium-ion battery technology provider Faradion Ltd for 100 million pounds including debt.

In its regulatory filing, the company said: “Reliance New Energy Solar Limited (RNESL), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Reliance Industries, has entered into an agreement with Faradion Limited (Faradion) and its shareholders to acquire 100% of the equity shares of Faradion through secondary transactions for a total value of GBP 94.42Mn based on an enterprise value of GBP 100Mn."

The regulatory filing said "88.92% of Faradion shares totaling £ 83.97 million at expected close in early January 2022. 11.08% of Faradion shares within 3 years post-closing for an aggregate consideration of up to GBP 10.45Mn." 

RNESL has also agreed to subscribe to new shares in Faradion for a total of GBP 31.59 million, of which GBP 25 million will be as growth capital to accelerate trade and balance debt payments and other fees.

With its patented sodium ion battery technology, Faradion is one of the world's leading battery technology companies based in Sheffield and Oxford in the UK. As Faradion has competitively superior, strategic, broadband and broadband IP portfolios covering many aspects of sodium ion technology, Reliance will use them at its fully integrated Giga energy storage plant as part of the Dhirubhai Ambani Green Energy Giga Complex project at Jamnagar, India. 

It added that the acquisition is not a transaction with a related party, and none of the RIL Promoters, the Promoter Group or the Group Companies have any interest in the entities involved in the transaction and the transactions will not require any governmental or regulatory approval.

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