Dragonfly Energy, CNTQ Complete Business Combination

RENO, Nev. – Dragonfly Energy Corp., an industry leader in energy storage and producer of deep cycle lithium-ion storage batteries, announced that it completed its business combination with Chardan NexTech Acquisition 2 Corp (CNTQ) on Oct. 7 . The combined company will operate under the name Dragonfly Energy Holdings Corp.

Commencing at the open of trading today (Oct. 10), Dragonfly’s common stock and warrants were expected to trade on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange (Nasdaq) under the symbols “DFLI” and “DFLIW,” respectively. The company will continue to be led by Dr. Denis Phares, chief executive Officer, alongside the rest of the current Dragonfly management team.

The transaction was approved by CNTQ’s shareholders at a special meeting held on Oct. 6. Over 99.9% of the votes cast on the business combination proposal at the Special Meeting were cast in favor of approving the business combination. CNTQ’s shareholders also voted to approve all other proposals presented at the Special Meeting.

“We are excited to begin the next chapter of Dragonfly’s story,” said Dr. Denis Phares, Chief Executive Officer of Dragonfly. “Becoming a public company is an important and exciting step forward for us. The proceeds from this transaction and our relationships with key partners, bring us closer to making safe, affordable energy storage a reality by facilitating the development and large-scale deployment of our All-Solid-State-Battery technology, while also helping us grow our existing core business.”

Jonas Grossman, Chief Executive Officer and Director of CNTQ, added, “through the acquisition of Dragonfly, CNTQ achieved its intent to merge with a disruptive technology company that delivers environmentally impactful solutions benefiting all stakeholders. The Chardan team has multiple decades of SPAC, direct investment, and investment banking expertise in Clean Technologies, and we look forward to continuing our partnerships with leaders and innovators in the space. We are excited as Dragonfly becomes a public company and is poised to revolutionize smart energy storage to enable a clean, renewable future.”

“We are excited to work with such a talented management team and support the strategic vision of the firm,” said Harry Giovani, Managing Partner at Energy Impact Partners Credit Group. “We look forward to helping Dragonfly expand and develop its best in class, disruptive energy storage technologies.”

EIP Credit Group Partner Tal Sheynfeld added, “Dragonfly’s product portfolio delivers environmentally impactful solutions for energy storage. We’re excited to welcome the company to the EIP family as its visionary management team expands into different verticals.”

Transaction Overview
Transaction generated committed capital of ~$250 million in gross proceeds consisting of (i) $25 million in equity, including the private strategic investment from THOR Industries (NYSE: THO) that closed in July 2022, (ii) $75 million senior secured term loan facility led by Energy Impact Partners (used in part to refinance $45 million of existing indebtedness and to pay transaction related expenses), and (iii) the post-closing availability of a $150 million Chardan Equity Facility (ChEF).

Dragonfly intends to use the proceeds to accelerate the market penetration of its existing business and commercialize its proprietary and patented All-Solid-State-Battery technology that will dramatically reduce reliance on the power grid.

Advisors
Stifel, Nicolaus & Company, Incorporated (“Stifel”) acted as financial advisor, and O’Melveny & Myers, LLP and Parsons Beble & Latimer served as legal counsels, to Dragonfly.

Chardan Capital Markets LLC (“Chardan”) served as financial advisor, Stifel and Chardan acted as joint placement agents and Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP and Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, LLP served as legal counsels, to CNTQ. Chapman and Cutler LLP served as counsel to Energy Impact Partners.

About Dragonfly
Dragonfly Energy Holdings Corp. (Nasdaq: DFLI) headquartered in Reno, Nevada, is a leading supplier of deep cycle lithium-ion batteries. Dragonfly’s research and development initiatives are revolutionizing the energy storage industry through innovative technologies and manufacturing processes. Today, Dragonfly’s non-toxic deep cycle lithium-ion batteries are displacing lead-acid batteries across a wide range of end-markets, including RVs, marine vessels, off-grid installations, and other storage applications. Dragonfly is also focused on delivering an energy storage solution to enable a more sustainable and reliable smart grid through the future deployment of the Company’s proprietary and patented solid-state cell technology. To learn more, visit www.dragonflyenergy.com/investors.

Source: https://rvbusiness.com/dragonfly-energy-cntq-complete-business-combination/