This projected increase in demand for graphite will bode well for graphite explorers and producers that have the correct type of graphite that makes up the anode, the negative side, in batteries. Electric vehicle batteries require very specific unique types of graphite.
NORTHERN GRAPHITE SIGNS AGREEMENT TO ACQUIRE OWNERSHIP INTEREST IN NEOGRAF SOLUTIONS
Northern Graphite Corp. has entered into an agreement with Edgewater Capital Partners to acquire an ownership interest in NeoGraf Solutions LLC. NeoGraf is a leading provider of specialty, value-added products manufactured from natural graphite and has a strong intellectual property portfolio and a blue-chip customer base. NeoGraf is one of Northern's largest customers. This investment will enable Northern to integrate downstream into the manufacturing of graphite products for a number of high-growth markets, including lithium-ion batteries/electric vehicles, fuel cells, graphene and nanomaterials, thermal management in consumer electronics, smart building products, and fire retardants.
Under the terms of the agreement, Northern has a six-month option to acquire an effective 50.1-per-cent voting interest and a 33.3-per-cent equity interest in NeoGraf and also has an option to increase its interest up to 100 per cent at a later date, subject to the terms and conditions of the agreement. Northern has engaged Sprott Capital Partners LP to act as its financial adviser with respect to financing the investment. Closing of Northern's investment is subject to the execution of definitive agreements, the receipt of all required third party and regulatory approvals, including, if applicable, approval of the TSX Venture Exchange, and to Northern completing satisfactory financing arrangements.
Hugues Jacquemin, Northern's chief executive officer, commented, "The NeoGraf transaction is a major step toward integrating downstream to capture a greater share of the value chain and creating an industry-leading mine-to-market natural graphite company with the ambition to produce low-carbon footprint products." He added: "We are very pleased to be partnering with Edgewater, which will enable us to complete the transaction in a very capital-efficient manner. The combination of Edgewater's performance materials expertise and our knowledge of the graphite industry will help enable NeoGraf to achieve its full growth potential."
"We are very excited to partner with Hugues and the Northern team," commented Robert Girton, a partner at Edgewater. "Their investment in NeoGraf clearly demonstrates their mine-to-market strategy and enhances the security of supply and value that NeoGraf provides to its blue-chip customer base. Further, the collaboration between the organizations will serve to accelerate and expand the breadth of unique solutions, which ultimately enable our customers' commercial success."
Drew Walker, chief executive officer of Neograf, commented: "Similar to NeoGraf, Northern is a noted thought leader in the worldwide graphite industry, an industry which sits at the centre of several megatrends that will drive outsized growth opportunities for our products. Together, Northern and NeoGraf will be a powerful combination in the development of high performance technical solutions that address our customer's application-specific needs. Additionally, Northern provides NeoGraf with greater security of supply and expands the geographic regions from which we source our graphite. This will be a key advantage as we execute our shared vision for growth."
About Northern Graphite Corp.
Northern is a Canadian, TSX-V-listed company that is focused on becoming a world leader in producing natural graphite and upgrading it into high-value products critical to the green economy, including anode material for lithium-ion batteries/electric vehicles, fuel cells and graphene, as well as advanced industrial technologies.
Northern is the only significant graphite-producing company in North America and will become the third largest outside of China when its Namibian operations come back online. The company also has two large-scale development projects -- Bissett Creek in Ontario and Okanjande in Namibia -- that will be a source of continued production growth in the future. All projects have battery-quality graphite and are located close to infrastructure in politically stable countries.
IWA has an ongoing consulting contract for investor relations with Northern Graphite Corporation and is also a shareholder.
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