Bulgaria's Monbat to sell German battery cell unit to UK Britishvolt

Bulgarian battery manufacturer Monbat [BUL:MONB] said on Wednesday that it has agreed to dispose of its German-based lithium-ion subsidiary Monbat Holding GmbH to UK battery cell technology company Britishvolt at an overall valuation of 36 million euro ($38.5 million).

The target business comprises EAS Batteries and Monbat New Power (MNP), the vendor said in a stock exchange filing.

The transaction includes an unspecified cash consideration as well as well as the issuance of an undisclosed number of ordinary shares in the capital of Britishvolt, which will give the Bulgarian company a minority stake in the UK company.

"We believe Britishvolt is the right partner that has the necessary resources to become a leader in providing lithium-ion solutions for electrified transportation and energy storage," Monbat CEO Victor Spiriev said. He added that the deal structure fully supports the roadmap for the development of EAS and the Monbat Group.

Nordhausen-based EAS develops and manufactures large-format cylindrical lithium-ion battery cells from 7.5 ampere hour (Ah) to 50 Ah. Its products are used in the aerospace, defence, submarine and marine, as well as automotive sectors in Europe, Asia and North America.

Britishvolt said in a separate statement on Tuesday that it plans to make further investments in EAS, which is its first-ever overseas acquisition and will aid the UK company in accomplishing its stated ambition to develop marine battery solutions. The purchase of EAS will help scale up the final part of Britishvolt's 46xx cell development and commercialisation programme, and bring the new cell product to the market.

Last month, Monbat shareholders approved the planned sale of the company's Austria-based unit Monbat Immobilien as well as its related real estate assets for a total price of 15.2 million euro.

Shares in Monbat traded 8.18% higher at 5.95 levs shortly after Wednesday's opening of the Bulgarian Stock Exchange.

($ = 0.9357 euro)

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