Electrified Materials to buy Blackion in $13M all-stock deal
What's the deal? American Resources CorporationDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → (Nasdaq: AREC) said its majority-owned subsidiary, Electrified Materials Corporation (EMCO)Dealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, has signed a binding letter of intent to acquire Blackion LLCDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → in an all-stock deal worth about $13.2 million. The transaction values EMCO at a $275 million pre-money valuation.
The terms: Half the consideration is issued at closing, 25% after 12 months and the remaining 25% after 24 months, subject to integration and participation objectives. The deal still needs definitive agreements, customary closing conditions, and regulatory approvals.
Who's Blackion? It provides lithium-ion battery lifecycle and critical materials services across US and international markets. Its work spans battery feedstock origination, reverse logistics, material recovery, traceability, and closed-loop supply chain services.
What's the endgame? EMCO is building the front end of a critical materials supply chain — material disposition, aggregation, dismantling, and preprocessing. Buying Blackion adds an experienced management team, customer relationships, and feedstock sourcing rather than building those capabilities internally.
Why now? The two firms have already worked together commercially, letting each assess operating fit before a combination. Chief executive officer Chris Dreska said Blackion brings capabilities that can "immediately strengthen" the business EMCO is developing.
The combined platform will focus on lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries, other chemistries, manufacturing scrap, black mass, and rare earth magnet materials recovered from end-of-life products. Processed materials can move to ReElement Technologies CorporationDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → for further refining, including battery-grade lithium recovery — a model that avoids owning every stage of the chain.
The signal: LFP recycling economics hinge on logistics, scale, and cheap lithium recovery, since the chemistry lacks high-value nickel and cobalt. By stitching together sourcing, preprocessing, and refining across partners, EMCO is betting a modular supply chain can shorten its path to commercialisation and cut execution risk.
Read more: citybiz.co
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