Bussiness
Dutch firm LionVolt acquires Scottish battery manufacturer AMTE Power
AMTE Power’s proposed Dundee gigafactory
FRP Advisory has sold AMTE Power’s Scotland business and assets out of administration to Dutch battery technology firm LionVolt, saving 20 jobs.
LionVolt is a subsidiary of LionVolt B.V., a group based in Eindhoven, Netherlands – a battery innovator that develops ‘3D’ solid-state batteries that aim to deliver high performance, fast charging, safety and sustainability.
As early as June 2023 AMTE notified investors of its continuing efforts to raise additional finance to support its development of battery cell technology. Whilst these efforts attracted some interest, delays in concluding a subscription agreement to raise rescue funds necessitated the commencement of a parallel accelerated M&A process as a contingency to secure a future for the business. A multi-disciplinary team comprising restructuring and corporate finance professionals from FRP was duly engaged.
Due to continued delays in securing the necessary rescue funding and mounting financial pressures, AMTE announced on 19 December 2023 that it had had no alternative but to file a notice of intention to appoint administrators. A subsequent notice was filed on 8 January 2024 to allow efforts to continue in earnest on the parallel strategies.
With escalating cash pressures, the company subsequently had no alternative but to seek the protection of administration. Richard Bloomfield, Ian Corfield and Michelle Elliott of FRP were appointed on 19 January and, on 25 January, the administrators completed the sale of the business and assets of its battery cell manufacture and production business in Thurso to LionVolt.
The transaction with LionVolt enables the battery production facility at Thurso to be repurposed for producing LionVolt’s innovative batteries and includes the transfer of 20 jobs based in Thurso. Regrettably, the remaining 15 staff at Milton have been made redundant.
Richard Bloomfield, director at FRP and joint administrator of AMTE Power Plc, said: “The acquisition by LionVolt presented the best opportunity to secure jobs and fulfil our statutory duties to creditors.
“The transaction follows an exhaustive sales process and search for new investment. Critically, it preserves a large number of jobs and provides a continuation of battery cell manufacturing in Scotland. We wish the team at LionVolt all the best for the future.
“We are working with the impacted staff at the AMTE Power site in Milton and will support them in their claims to the Redundancy Payments Service.”