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On February 15, 2024, Nouveau Monde Graphite Inc. (“NMG“ or the “Company”) announced that it had entered into agreements with Panasonic Energy (“Panasonic”) and General Motors (“GM”) regarding offtake from the Company’s planned Matawinie graphite mine and Bécancour battery material plant in Bécancour, Quebec.
At the same time, NMG announced the placement of US$50M of equity with Panasonic and GM, as well as an additional US$37.5M of funding from Mitsui & Co (“Mitsui”) and Pallinghurst Bond Limited (“Pallinghurst”), for an aggregate combined investment of US$87.5 million to advance its development toward commercial operations.
NMG’s key assets include the Matawinie graphite mine and concentrator, forecast to produce 103 ktpa of high-purity flake concentrate, and the Bécancour battery material plant which will provide beneficiation of the flake graphite concentrate and produce approximately 43 ktpa of active anode material. When completed, the Company’s mine-to-battery material plant operations will be the first fully integrated natural graphite active anode material production of its kind in North America. NMG will provide a carbon-neutral, reliable, sizeable, and ESG-driven source of Canadian natural graphite for the local electric vehicle (“EV”) and lithium-ion battery market.
Arne H Frandsen, Chair of NMG, declared: “Today, influential actors in strategic minerals, modern commodities, batteries, and EVs are coming together to drive the establishment of a Canadian source of graphite to support energy autonomy, national security, and global decarbonization. I am confident that such commercial and investment levers will constitute the bedrock on which NMG can build its Phase 2 operations and more. Congrats to colleagues at Panasonic Energy, GM, Mitsui and Pallinghurst for this multifaceted transaction; together we will support the world’s transitions towards a cleaner future.”
The investments from Mitsui and Pallinghurst, which will be effected through the cancellation of existing convertible debt held by both parties (“Debt Settlement Transactions”), are subject to a shareholder vote given that Mitsui and Pallinghurst are considered “related parties”.
Fort Capital Partners provided the Board of NMG with both an independent formal valuation of the Company and the convertible debt which was part of the Debt Settlement Transactions, and provided a fairness opinion with respect to the transactions.
A copy of Fort Capital’s written opinions can be found in the NMG Management Proxy Circular sent to shareholders for a meeting to be held on May 1, 2024, and by clicking here.