NET Power and Rice Acquisition Corp II (NYSE: RONI) announced on May 19th an intent to establish a joint venture with SK Group – a privately held technology and innovation conglomerate and a $50 million PIPE commitment from SK Group in connection with NET Power’s and RONI’s proposed business combination.
The NET Power-SK Joint Venture will be focused on the development of utility-scale natural gas plants across Asian markets, deploying NET Power’s technology that produces zero emissions and reliable energy generation, fitting the needs of a net zero economy. Each company is expected to own a 50% stake in the common equity of the joint venture, subject to negotiation and execution of definitive documentation.
SK Group will contribute to the venture with its regional footprint and project development expertise in deploying clean power across Asia. The proposed cooperation includes project origination and development work involving activities like site selection, supply, and offtake contracting, financing, and permitting.
With the new investment from SK Group, total expected investments in NET Power came to $895 million. As previously disclosed, $345 million come from RONI’s trust account (assuming no redemptions), approximately $540 million are raised entirely at $10.00 per share of common stock, and $10 million stem from interim financing of an existing owner of NET Power to support its operations through the closing of the business combination.
Relevant: Net Power Announces Additional $275M PIPE Commitments
The proposed business combination of Rice Acquisition and NET Power, assuming no RONI shareholders exercise their redemption rights, is expected to have a market capitalization of $2.257 billion.
“Asian power generation, which is primarily fueled by coal, accounts for nearly 25% of global emissions… We believe that NET Power possesses the most cost-effective technology for decarbonizing fossil fuel-based power generation, and we are thrilled to partner with SK to deploy our NET Power plants on a large scale throughout Asia. SK is one of the largest and most respected conglomerates globally, and combining our expertise with their resources could accelerate our deployment in one of the largest markets for NET Power, and undoubtedly the most critical market for the planet.” said the upcoming CEO of NET Power, Danny Rice.
