Aura Renewable Acquisitions PLC

Looking for a potential Clean Energy Tech SPAC? Then think Aura

“…we are the only global renewable energy SPAC focused on the supply chain…”

Fresh, breezy and unsettled are some of the adjectives associated with wind, but the latter is not an appropriate comparison for Aura Renewable Acquisitions which is very settled on its objective.

As a SPAC or special purpose acquisition company, the ambition is the acquisition of one company or many involved in global renewable energy particularly the supply chain which according to Suresh Withana is a space “rich with opportunities.”

Withana’s Harmony Capital is the founding shareholder of Aura, and in April’s IPO a 13% shareholder incentivised to make the business a success “not just for ourselves but for all shareholders.”

Like some of the other SPAC’s that have been blown onto the London Stock Exchange over the past six months, Withana and the rest of the board acquired shares in the company at the same price and on the same terms as all investors coming into the IPO.

Withana though says there’s not one, but several key differentiators between Aura and its peers.  “We are the only global renewable energy SPAC focused on the supply chain, and I would challenge anyone to tell us there’s an analogue to us on the London market because we know that’s not true,” says Withana who adds the caveat “…as of today.”  He also stresses the quality of the executives involved. “If you look at our board we have people who have renewable energy expertise, many many years in the energy space; industry veterans who kindly agreed to join our board.”

The board may be kind, but when you scrutinize them as Withana has scrutinised the mandate of the competition, you’ll see they are entrepreneurs, successful individuals who avoid empty bluster, are accustomed to breezy businesses which have the power to disrupt ..to borrow a few wind-related puns.

In terms of targets Withana says Aura is probably looking “for companies that are relatively mature in the sense that they are already pre-existing businesses that are typically in private hands that are now looking for a way in which to access capital markets.”

In Greek mythology, Aura is the goddess responsible for the breeze.  The company name is inspired and mission-appropriate, as is the platform that the company can offer the acquired and the invested.

“We are listed on the London stock exchange. We have access to institutional investors, and retail investors in the London market now have access to the type of exciting companies in the renewable supply chain that we’re aware of, or will become aware of.”

Suresh casually mentions technology and clean energy, though no acquisition is firmed up or that would be breaking SPAC listing rules.  The board is open minded and Aura might not be a single asset company, but “take several different types of companies or make minority interests in several companies so that we are actually acting as a platform of ownership interests in a variety of technologies or businesses in the renewable energy space.”

Withana describes Aura as a blank slate, one that makes one or several targets to become a substantial company. He says we’re talking “about 300, half a billion or higher in terms of size and market cap” and “our ambitions are to have a well traded, well covered and liquid stock.”

Listen to Suresh talk to Sarah Lowther about the size and scope of the opportunity and more about the credentials of the people and the platform.