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American Metals LLC, a subsidiary of Fishers-based American Resources Corp., announced plans this week to merge with New York City-based AI Transportation Acquisition Corp. in a move intended to take the Indiana company public.
American Metals, a recycling specialist focused on used steel available at decommissioned thermal coal mining operations in Kentucky, was valued at $170 million in the SPAC—or special purpose acquisition company—transaction.
AI Transportation Acquisition Corp. launched in 2023 as a blank-check company seeking mergers with privately held companies. In November, AI Transportation Acquisition Corp. filed for a $60 million initial public offering.
Mark Jensen, chair and CEO of American Resources Corp., said AI Transportation Corp. (listed as AITR on the Nasdaq Stock Market) has as much as $62 million to invest toward the growth of American Metals.
“We’ve been working with them for about six months,” Jensen said. “They’ve been doing due diligence, and they were intrigued by what American Metals does. They were looking to get into a recycling component and looking at the movement of the electrified economy—meaning batteries, magnets, copper and aluminum.”
Jensen said American Resources Corp. (listed as AREC at Nasdaq) is spinning off its individual divisions. American Resources is the parent company of American Metals as well as ReElement Technologies, a mineral refining company that produces magnet-grade rare earth element oxides and lithium-based battery cathode active materials.
Pending regulatory approvals and approval of the SPAC merger by the shareholders of AI Transportation Acquisition and American Resources, AITR and American Metals will become subsidiaries of a newly formed Delaware-based company, Electrified Materials Corp.
“We’re thrilled to partner with the American Metals team to capitalize on their proven track record and support the expansion of their operations to meet the demand for critical metals,” AITR chair and CEO Yongjin Chen said in a written statement.
American Resources isn’t a SPAC novice. The company formed its own blank-check entity, American Acquisition Opportunity Inc., in 2020 and executed a merger with Fishers-based Royalty Management Corp. one year later.
In addition to its Fishers headquarters, American Resources operates a purification facility in Noblesville. In 2023, ReElement Technologies announced plans to take over a former RCA Thomson plant in Marion, Indiana.
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