NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Climate Change Crisis Real Impact I Acquisition Corporation, NYSE: CLII.U, dba Climate Real Impact Solutions (CRIS) announced today the closing of its initial public offering of 23,000,000 units at a price of $10.00 per unit including 3,000,000 sold to the underwriters pursuant to the full exercise of their over-allotment option. CRIS is a special-purpose acquisition company (SPAC) created to combat the climate crisis by completing a business combination with a scalable company in the climate sector, and it launches with a team of founders and directors who collectively boast decades of leadership and operating experience in the utility, renewable energy, private equity and finance industries. The SPAC is co-sponsored by private funds affiliated with Pacific Investment Management Company LLC (PIMCO), which has nearly $150 billion in sustainability investments across its portfolios.
CRIS intends to employ a business acquisition strategy that utilizes both traditional financial and climate-focused environmental metrics to acquire and then to maximize both the value and the climate impact of the combined company. These companies may be in the business of either avoiding carbon emissions into the atmosphere from the residential, commercial or transportation sectors or in the business of removing CO2 already in the atmosphere.
CRIS expects our initial focus for a business combination will be in the following sectors:
- Distributed energy generation
- Renewable energy
- Large-scale solutions for grid stability and resilience
- Energy efficiency
- Green energy service companies
- Green retail energy/smart energy home as a service
- Electric vehicle infrastructure and decarbonized liquid fuels
- Circular economy
- Carbon capture and utilization
- Sustainable agriculture
- Reforestation
CRIS founders chose these sectors with the goal of broad-based climate impact in mind, focusing on products and services that consumers interact with at home, in their work life and in transit. In addition to offering significant, measurable carbon mitigation impacts, these sectors encompass climate technologies that have already demonstrated commercial effectiveness and economic viability.
The CRIS founders and directors combine expertise across areas necessary for success in their targeted climate sectors, including but not limited to: experience at Fortune 500 companies in leadership, operations, capital formation and customer value strategies; tangible clean energy innovation and investment; authentic climate advocacy and robust networks of industry connections cultivated through decades of market and climate leadership. The team expects to be more than financial stewards and engineers of business acquisitions – CRIS leadership is dedicated to mentoring and supporting the acquisition target’s management, business strategy and operations in order to maximize impact. Key members of CRIS leadership include:
Management
- David Crane, co-founder, chief executive officer and director, served as CEO of NRG Energy, Inc. for 12 years, during which he led the company to the forefront of clean energy deployment in the United States
- John Cavalier, co-founder and chief financial officer, spent seven years as managing partner of Hudson Clean Energy Partners and a combined 20 years as global chairman/senior advisor of Credit Suisse’s Energy Group
- Beth Comstock, co-founder and chief commercial officer, former Vice Chair and 27-year veteran of GE, where she had an extensive track record in innovation including creation of GE Ventures and the ecomagination clean energy initiative
Board of Directors:
- Mary Powell, independent director and board chair, who spent 11 years as CEO of Green Mountain Power where she led advanced distributed energy generation, pioneered residential solar adoption and revolutionized the company into one of the leading energy transformations in the country
- Mimi Alemayehou, independent director, formerly executive vice president of the Overseas Private Investment Corporation and Managing Director of Black Rhino Group, an investment platform focused on energy and infrastructure assets in Africa
- Richard Kauffman, independent director, energy investor, former New York State Chairman of Energy and Finance with oversight of the New York Energy Research and Development Authority, and former Senior Advisor to US Energy Secretary Steven Chu
- Jamie Weinstein, director, managing director, portfolio manager and head of corporate special situations at PIMCO and former portfolio manager at KKR
“With each passing year, millions more Americans accept that climate change is a defining issue of our time and that, while we have to do our part, it is the obligation of this generation of American leadership to lead the effort to do something about it,” said David Crane, CRIS CEO and founder. “Over the past decade, American entrepreneurs have brought forth a wide array of exciting products and services which are clean, green, smart and affordable. We have formed Climate Real Impact Solutions to help those entrepreneurs gain access to the capital, the connections and the talent they need to take their businesses to the next level while amplifying their climate impact.”
Advisors
Citigroup, BofA Securities and Barclays acted as joint book-running managers for the offering. Academy Securities, Drexel Hamilton, R. Seelaus & Co., LLC, Roberts and Ryan and Siebert Williams Shank acted as co-managers. Ropes & Gray LLP served as counsel to CRIS and Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP served as counsel to the underwriters.
About Climate Real Impact Solutions
Climate Change Crisis Real Impact I Acquisition Corporation (NYSE: CLII.U), dba Climate Real Impact Solutions, is a special-purpose acquisition company (SPAC) formed to identify and acquire a scalable company making significant contributions to the fight against the climate crisis. The SPAC is led by a seasoned operations and leadership team with decades of experience at the intersection of climate change and capitalism.