SPAC ESM Acquisition files for a $300 million IPO

ESM Acquisition, a blank check company formed by The Energy & Minerals Group and former Xstrata CEO Mick Davis, filed on Monday with the SEC to raise up to $300 million in an initial public offering.

The Houston, TX-based company plans to raise $300 million by offering 30 million units at $10. Each unit consists of one share of common stock and one-third of a warrant, exercisable at $11.50. At the proposed deal size, ESM Acquisition would command a market value of $375 million.

The company is led by Chairman John Raymond, co-founder and CEO of natural resources-focused private equity firm The Energy & Minerals Group, and CEO and Director Sir Michael Davis, the former co-founder of X2 Resources and former CEO of Xstrata, one of the world's largest global diversified mining and metals companies. The company plans to target businesses that are positioned to benefit from the global transition towards a low carbon economy, including but not limited to the shift away from fossil fuels, the light-weighting and electrification of vehicles, and the reduction of carbon emissions from key industrial processes.

ESM Acquisition was founded in 2021 and plans to list on the NYSE under the symbol ESM.U. The company filed confidentially on January 25, 2021. Credit Suisse is the sole bookrunner on the deal.