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Transatlantic law firm Womble Bond Dickinson (WBD) has advised on the reverse takeover of Deregallera Holdings Ltd (formerly DG Innovate Limited).
The London corporate team of WBD has advised DG Innovate plc on its admission to the Official List (standard segment), admission to trading on the Main Market and its £32.4m acquisition of Deregallera Holdings Ltd, an advanced research and development company pioneering sustainable and environmentally considerate improvements to electric mobility and storage.
DG Innovate's principal activity has been to develop safer, sustainable and high energy storage systems, along with the design and development of high efficiency, high torque electric hub drives and power electronics for electric vehicles. The company has also developed electric drive systems which aim to deliver improved range over existing technology - based on the same battery capacity - by reducing losses and improving efficiency, and anode active materials as a key enabling technology for sodium-ion batteries.
Founded in 2009 by Martin Boughtwood, the company has sought to address major problems facing both electric mobility and energy storage. Since its foundation, DG Innovate has developed a significant intellectual property portfolio, including a novel electric motor and corresponding architecture and a suite of energy storage materials (including sodium-ion cells and supercapacitors). It has been granted 11 patents, with a further seven pending.
The acquisition is classified as a reverse takeover under the Listing Rules and required the publication of an FCA approved Prospectus, as well as a rule 9 waiver under the Takeover Code. DG Innovate plc also raised £4.5m from investors.
Commenting on behalf of WBD, Leon Miller said:
"It has been a pleasure advising DG Innovate plc on this transformative deal, which despite recent market turbulence has successfully completed.
“We have enjoyed working with DG Innovate, a highly innovative company with a strong technology and IP portfolio and wish the enlarged group every success for the future."
The WBD team was led by corporate partner Leon Miller, assisted by Krish Dholakia and Rianna Farrow. The corporate team was supported by James Love, Tim Barber and Sheilah Mackie (IP), Tim Woodward and Chloe Grant (Employment), Andrij Jurkiw and Angelene Chester (Competition), Charlie Reid (Banking) and Ronan Lowney (tax).
Grant Thornton acted as Financial Adviser to DG Innovate plc on the transaction.
