In the United States (US), renewable fuels project developer NEXT Renewable Fuels, Inc. has announced that it has entered into a mutual agreement with Industrial Tech Acquisition II, Inc. (ITAQ) to terminate previously announced business combination plans.
Sponsored by technology and venture capital firm Texas Ventures, ITAQ is a “blank check” company formed for the purpose of entering into a merger, share exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase, recapitalization, reorganization, or other similar business combination with one or more businesses or entities.
According to a statement, while this termination reflects current equity market conditions and timing related to ITAQ, NEXT Renewable Fuels will remain opportunistic with respect to all capital markets activities moving forward.
While we have made significant progress on our path towards becoming public through the SPAC process with ITAQ, the timeline in which ITAQ is required to consummate a merger has become compressed, and during this period of adverse market conditions, we have agreed to terminate our proposed business combination agreement. While this was a difficult decision, we have the discipline and capital markets expertise that enable us to make these decisions. Given where we stand today, moving forward with this merger would not have been in the best interests of NEXT. Importantly, this termination does not impact our development activities in Oregon or our intent to pursue creative financing opportunities. My overarching goal is to remain open and opportunistic in finding a favorable capital markets path for NEXT in the near term. We thank the ITAQ team for the partnership and support throughout this process, commented Christopher Efird, CEO of NEXT Renewable Fuels.
The company’s initial project is a 50,000 barrel-per-day (750 million (US) gallon/ 2.84 billion litre per year) renewable diesel and sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) biorefinery in Oregon with easy multi-modal access to the West Coast demand markets.
According to the company, the project is advancing through permitting and expects to begin construction upon completion of an Environmental Impact Statement currently underway with the US Army Corp of Engineers.
