Vast Solar has agreed to combine with a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) backed by NYSE-listed Nabors International in a deal which will result in Vast listing on the New York Stock Exchange, while remaining headquartered in Australia.
Vast Solar is a leading renewable energy company that has developed concentrated solar power (CSP) systems to generate, store and dispatch carbon free, utility-scale electricity, industrial heat, and to enable the production of green fuels. Vast’s unique approach to CSP utilises a proprietary, modular sodium loop to efficiently capture and convert solar heat into these end products.
Nabors Energy Transition Corp. (NETC) is a SPAC which was formed to identify solutions, opportunities, companies or technologies that focus on advancing the energy transition; specifically, ones that facilitate, improve or complement the reduction of carbon or greenhouse gas emissions while satisfying growing energy consumption across markets globally. NETC is an affiliate of Nabors Industries, Ltd., a leading provider of advanced technology for the energy industry. By leveraging its core competencies, particularly in drilling, engineering, automation, data science and manufacturing, Nabors, which owns the global industry’s largest fleet of land drilling rigs and equipment is committed to innovate the future of energy and enable the transition to a lower-carbon world.
Corporate Advisory Partner David Josselsohn led the matter for G+T, together with partner Elizabeth Cameron, special counsel Lucy Hall and lawyers Simon Goedhals, Matthew Scrocca, Mary Brady and Charlie Wheatley. The M&A team was supported by Tax partner Mark Goldsmith and lawyer Matthew Charman, Banking + Projects partner Robert Trowbridge and lawyer Stephanie Cook and Tech + IP Partner Anna Smyth and lawyer Vincent Floro.
G+T worked closely with Vast’s US counsel on the transaction.
Speaking of the transaction, David said “We are pleased to have assisted our long-standing client Vast Solar on this transformative transaction and look forward to seeing this leading Australian renewable energy company continue its great work in the clean energy space.“
G+T’s market leading M+A/Corporate Advisory team has advised on many of Australia’s largest and most innovative transactions, including advising Afterpay on its $39 billion acquisition by Block, Inc (formerly Square, Inc), the largest public M+A deal in Australia’s history and the largest cross border fintech deal globally, UniSuper on its involvement in the $24 billion takeover of Sydney Airports, PowAR consortium (QIC, Future Fund, AGL) on its $3 billion acquisition of Tilt Renewables by scheme of arrangement, and Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets and its managed funds on the $3.5 billion acquisition of Vocus Group Limited by scheme of arrangement. G+T was named ‘Law Firm of the Year’ for M&A and Corporate Law in the 2023 edition of Best Lawyers and is ranked Band 1 by Chambers Asia-Pacific 2022 in Corporate/M&A, Private Equity, Acquisition Finance and ECM, one of only two Australian law firms to be ranked.