Filed by Decarbonization Plus Acquisition Corporation II pursuant to
Rule 425 under the Securities Act of 1933
and deemed filed pursuant to Rule 14a-12
under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934
Subject Company: Decarbonization Plus Acquisition Corporation II
Commission File No.: 001-40000
Tritium Announces Addition of Edward T. Hightower, Managing Director of Motoring Ventures LLC, to the Combined Company’s Board of Directors Upon Closing of the Business Combination with Decarbonization Plus Acquisition Corporation II
BRISBANE, Australia, September 14, 2021 – Tritium Holdings Pty Ltd (“Tritium”), a global developer and manufacturer of direct current (“DC”) fast chargers for electric vehicles (“EVs”), today announced the addition of Edward T. Hightower, Managing Director of Motoring Ventures LLC, to the combined company’s Board of Directors following the closing of its business combination with Decarbonization Plus Acquisition Corporation II (“DCRN”) (NASDAQ: DCRN, DCRNW).
Mr. Hightower is an accomplished global automotive senior executive, entrepreneur, and author. He is currently the Managing Director and leader of Motoring Ventures LLC, an investment, growth, strategy, and operations advisory firm focused on driving value and impact in automotive and manufacturing businesses around the world. Mr. Hightower previously led General Motors’ $15 billion global crossovers business as the Executive Chief Engineer and Vehicle Line Executive. In this role, he had profit and loss responsibility, and led cross-functional teams in the United States, China, and South Korea. He has also served in engineering, marketing, strategy, and executive roles at BMW and Ford.
“We are honored to have such a pillar of the automotive business community on our Board,” commented Robert Tichio, Partner and Managing Director at Riverstone Holdings and Chairman of the Board of DCRN. “Edward’s keen insights into the global automotive industry developed from years of top-tier experience will prove invaluable to our Board and Tritium’s shareholders. His vision for sustainable transportation aligns with Tritium’s mission, and we are excited to welcome him.”
Mr. Hightower serves on the Boards of Directors of Temple Steel and HEVO Power, and is an advisor to Kiira Motors. He also serves on not-for-profit boards including the University of Michigan Ross School of Business Advisory Board, and the executive board of the Michigan Council of the Boy Scouts of America. Additionally, Mr. Hightower authored the book Motoring Africa: Sustainable Automotive Industrialization. Building Entrepreneurs, Creating Jobs, and Driving the World’s Next Economic Miracle, published in 2018. Mr. Hightower earned a Bachelor of Science degree in General Engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and an MBA from the University of Michigan Ross School of Business.
“As we continue to populate our Board of Directors, we are seeking experienced leaders of the very highest caliber, and we are lucky to count Edward among that number,” said Jane Hunter, Chief Executive Officer of Tritium. “Edward’s invaluable automotive and manufaturing sector experience will prove extremely helpful as Tritium continues its growth as a public company.”
“I’m extremely excited to join the Board of such an exciting and dynamic company,” commented Mr. Hightower. “It is clear that the future of the automotive industry lies in electric vehicles, and I am pleased to further advocate for this future by working with Tritium’s management and my fellow Board members to best support the company and its shareholders.”
About Tritium
Founded in 2001, Tritium designs and manufactures proprietary hardware and software to create advanced and reliable DC fast chargers for electric vehicles. Tritium’s compact and robust chargers are designed to look great on Main Street and thrive in harsh conditions, through technology engineered to be easy to install, own, and use. Tritium is focused on continuous innovation in support of our customers around the world.
As announced on May 26, 2021, Tritium has entered into a definitive agreement for a business combination with Decarbonization Plus Acquisition Corporation II (NASDAQ: DCRN, DCRNW), a publicly traded special purpose acquisition company (SPAC), that would result in Tritium becoming a publicly listed company. Completion of the proposed transaction is subject to customary closing conditions and is expected to occur in the fourth quarter of 2021.
For more information, visit tritiumcharging.com
About Decarbonization Plus Acquisition Corporation II
Decarbonization Plus Acquisition Corporation II is a blank check company formed for the purpose of effecting a merger, capital stock exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with a target whose principal effort is developing and advancing a platform that decarbonizes the most carbon-intensive sectors. These include the energy and agriculture, industrials, transportation and commercial and residential sectors. DCRN is sponsored by an affiliate of Riverstone Holdings LLC and represents a further expansion of Riverstone’s 15-year franchise in low-carbon investments, having established industry leading, scaled companies with more than US$5 billion of equity invested in renewables.
No Offer or Solicitation
This document does not constitute a solicitation of a proxy, consent or authorization with respect to any securities or in respect of the proposed transaction. This document also does not constitute an offer to sell or exchange, or the solicitation of an offer to buy or exchange, any securities, nor will there be any sale of securities in any states or jurisdictions in which such offer, solicitation, or sale or exchange would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such jurisdiction. No offering of securities will be made except by means of a prospectus meeting the requirements of section 10 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or an exemption therefrom.
Forward Looking Statements
Certain statements made in this document are “forward-looking statements” with respect to the proposed transaction between DCRN, Tritium and Tritium DCFC Limited, an Australian public company limited by shares (“NewCo”), and including statements regarding the benefits of the transaction, the anticipated timing of the transaction, the services offered by Tritium and the markets in which it operates, and NewCo’s projected future results. These forward-looking statements generally are identified by the words “estimates,” “projected,” “expects,” “anticipates,” “forecasts,” “plans,” “intends,” “believes,” “seeks,” “targets”, “may,” “will,” “should,” “would,” “will be,” “will continue,” “will likely result,” “future,” “propose,” “strategy,” “opportunity” and variations of these words or similar expressions (or the negative versions of such words or expressions) that predict or indicate future events or trends or are not statements of historical matters are intended to identify forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are provided for illustrative purposes only and are not intended to serve as, and must not be relied on by any investor as, guarantees, assurances, predictions or definitive statements of fact or probability regarding future performance, conditions or results, and involve a number of known and unknown risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other
important factors, many of which are outside NewCo’s, Tritium’s or DCRN’s control, that could cause actual results or outcomes to differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements. Important factors, among others, that may affect actual results or outcomes include the inability to complete the business combination in a timely manner or at all (including due to the failure to receive required shareholder approvals, or the failure of other closing conditions such as the satisfaction of the minimum trust account amount following redemptions by DCRN’s public stockholders, the waiver or expiration of a Tritium shareholder’s right to acquire Tritium under the shareholder’s deed in relation to Tritium and the receipt of certain governmental and regulatory approvals), which may adversely affect the price of DCRN’s securities; the inability of the business combination to be completed by DCRN’s business combination deadline and the potential failure to obtain an extension of the business combination deadline if sought by DCRN; the occurrence of any event, change or other circumstance that could give rise to the termination of the transaction; the inability to recognize the anticipated benefits of the proposed business combination; the inability to obtain or maintain the listing of NewCo’s shares on a national exchange following the proposed business combination; costs related to the proposed business combination; the risk that the proposed business combination disrupts current plans and operations, business relationships or business generally as a result of the announcement and consummation of the proposed business combination; NewCo’s ability to manage growth; NewCo’s ability to execute its business plan and meet its projections; potential disruption in NewCo’s employee retention as a result of the transaction; potential litigation, governmental or regulatory proceedings, investigations or inquiries involving NewCo, Tritium or DCRN, including in relation to the transaction; changes in applicable laws or regulations and general economic and market conditions impacting demand for Tritium’s or NewCo’s products and services; and other risks and uncertainties indicated from time to time in the proxy statement/prospectus relating to the proposed business combination, including those under “Risk Factors” therein, and in DCRN’s other filings with the SEC. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made. Readers are cautioned not to put undue reliance on forward-looking statement, and NewCo and DCRN assume no obligation and do not undertake any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law. Neither NewCo nor DCRN gives any assurance that either NewCo or DCRN will achieve its expectations.
Additional Information about the Business Combination and Where to Find It
In connection with the proposed business combination, DCRN and NewCo, which will be the going-forward public company, intend to file a registration statement on Form F-4 (the “Registration Statement”) with the SEC, which will include a proxy statement/prospectus, and certain other related documents, to be used at the meeting of stockholders to approve the proposed business combination. INVESTORS AND SECURITY HOLDERS OF DCRN ARE URGED TO READ THE PROXY STATEMENT/PROSPECTUS, ANY AMENDMENTS THERETO AND OTHER RELEVANT DOCUMENTS THAT WILL BE FILED WITH THE SEC CAREFULLY AND IN THEIR ENTIRETY WHEN THEY BECOME AVAILABLE BECAUSE THEY WILL CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT TRITIUM, DCRN, NEWCO AND THE BUSINESS COMBINATION. The proxy statement/prospectus will be mailed to shareholders of DCRN as of a record date to be established for voting on the proposed business combination. Investors and security holders will also be able to obtain copies of the Registration Statement and other documents containing important information about each of the companies once such documents are filed with the SEC, without charge, at the SEC’s web site at www.sec.gov.
Participants in Solicitation
DCRN and its directors and executive officers may be deemed participants in the solicitation of proxies from DCRN’s stockholders with respect to the proposed business combination. A list of the names of those directors and executive officers and a description of their interests in DCRN is contained in DCRN’s filings with the SEC, including DCRN’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020, which was filed with the SEC on March 31, 2021, and is available free of charge at the SEC’s web site at www.sec.gov. Additional information regarding the interests of such participants will be set forth in the Registration Statement for the proposed business combination when available. NewCo and Tritium and their respective directors and executive officers may also be deemed to be participants in the solicitation of proxies from the shareholders of DCRN in connection with the proposed business combination. A list of the names of such directors and executive officers and information regarding their interests in the business combination will be contained in the Registration Statement for the proposed business combination when available.
Contacts:
For Investors
Caldwell Bailey
ICR, Inc.
TritiumIR@icrinc.com
For Media
Dan McDermott
ICR, Inc.
TritiumPR@icrinc.com
