Origin to List on Nasdaq via SPAC Merger With Artius

San Francisco – March 2, 2021 – Cooley advised Origin, the world’s leading carbon negative materials company, on its agreement to combine with Artius, a publicly traded special purpose acquisition company or SPAC. The combined company, which is expected to have an equity value of approximately $1.8 billion, will be named Origin Materials and remain listed on the Nasdaq under the new ticker symbol “ORGN.” Partners Garth Osterman and Peter Werner led the Cooley team advising Origin.

“This transformative transaction is expected to fully fund our aggressive growth strategy in a massive $1 trillion addressable market that is just beginning to transition from petroleum feedstocks to non-food, renewable feedstocks,” Rich Riley, co-CEO of Origin, said in a news release.

The transaction is expected to close in Q2 and to provide $925 million of gross proceeds to the company, including Artius’ $725 million of cash held in trust and a $200 million fully committed PIPE anchored by existing and new investors, including capital from Danone, Nestlé, PepsiCo, Mitsubishi Gas Chemical and AECI, as well as certain funds and accounts managed by Sylebra Capital, Senator Investment Group, Electron Capital Partners, BNP Paribas AM Energy Transition Fund and affiliates of Apollo. 

Origin’s mission is to enable the world’s transition to sustainable materials. Over the past 10 years, Origin has developed a platform for turning the carbon found in non-food biomass into useful materials while capturing carbon in the process. Its patented, breakthrough technology can disrupt and decarbonize the materials industry, which represents an approximately $1 trillion market opportunity to revolutionize the production of a range of end-products, including clothing, textiles, plastics, packaging, car parts, tires, carpeting and toys.

About Cooley LLP

Clients partner with Cooley on transformative deals, complex IP and regulatory matters, and high-stakes litigation, where innovation meets the law.

Cooley has 1,100+ lawyers across 16 offices in the United States, Asia and Europe.