Thor Industries has made a $15 million strategic investment in Dragonfly Energy, an RV lithium-ion battery supplier. Dragonfly signed an agreement in May with Chardan NexTech Acquisition 2 Corp., a special-purpose acquisition company, to lead Dragonfly into a public company.
Thor’s investment was completed before the merger between Dragonfly Energy and Chardan has been completed.
“Our investment in Dragonfly furthers Thor’s dedication to continuously improving the user experience of Thor RVers by providing them with a best-in-class energy storage solution that enables RVers to boondock and camp off the grid,” said Bob Martin, president and CEO of Thor Industries. “Dragonfly has been a valued partner to one of our largest and most successful North American RV companies, Keystone RV, a Thor operating company. The proven success of the products in the field and synergistic value-add relationship made this investment an important one to us. Our alignment with Dragonfly is a natural fit to the evolution of our product lines that empower the owners of our companies’ RVs to Go Everywhere and Stay Anywhere.”
Dragonfly sells Battle-Born Batteries to OEMs and consumers. The batteries an
d associated products are designed and assembled in the U.S.
“Dragonfly is thrilled to take this next step with Thor to solidify our long-term collaboration. Our experience working with Thor brands, particularly Keystone, has convinced us that this is the best downstream strategic partner for us,” said Denis Phares, Dragonfly CEO. “Not only is Thor’s commitment to the end-user second to none, but this investment demonstrates Thor’s commitment to a much larger vision of energy sustainability. Together, we will continue to drive industry-best lithium-ion solutions, designed to improve the user experience of RVs. We look forward to being a key contributor to Thor’s future success.”
Thor discussed aligning with leading RV technology companies at its recent investor day, Thor Chief Operating Officer Tod Woelfer said.
“Dragonfly has demonstrated its leadership in the crucial lithium-ion battery supply. The leadership team at Dragonfly has demonstrated the success of its operations model that focuses on inventory management and domestic production, thereby reducing supply chain risk,” Woelfer said. “Keystone currently enjoys an exclusive relationship with Dragonfly for certain battery brands that, in time, will expand to an exclusive relationship across the entire family of Thor brands. In addition to a potential strong financial return on our investment, our equity position creates the opportunity for agreed exclusivity and co-development rights in RV industry-specific applications of lithium-ion energy storage solutions.”
Woelfer said the investment in Dragonfly furthers Thor’s environmental, social and governance commitment. He said Dragonfly’s all-solid-state cell technology can enable a more sustainable and reliable smart energy grid.
“As we forge ahead, our strategic partnership with Dragonfly will allow for meaningful engagement with its leadership to ensure long-term alignment of a crucial element of our supply chain with Thor’s strategic vision and to provide one of many building blocks to a comprehensive aftermarket strategy,” Woelfer said.
Funding of the business combination includes a $75 million senior secured term loan for which Energy Impact Partners is lead arranger, a $5 million equity investment from Chardan NexTech Investments 2 LLC, and a $150 million Chardan Equity Facility (ChEFTM) from Chardan, an affiliate of CNTQ’s sponsor.
