ST Energy Transition I Ltd. (STET)

ST Energy Transition I Ltd. was a special purpose acquisition company, or SPAC. It was formed to raise cash in an IPO and then merge with a private company, mainly one in the energy transition or clean energy technology sector. It had no business operations, and its IPO proceeds were held in a trust account until a deal or liquidation. The company was set up in Hamilton, Bermuda.

The SPAC was linked to shipping and energy investor John Fredriksen, who served as chairman, with Gunnar Eliassen as chief executive. Its units began trading on the New York Stock Exchange as STET.U on December 3, 2021. It raised $250 million at $10 per unit, and the underwriters later exercised an over-allotment option for more units. Each unit held one Class A share and one-half of a warrant exercisable at $11.50, and the shares later traded separately under STET.

Like many SPACs from the 2021 boom, the company struggled to find a target as the SPAC market collapsed in 2022. Investors were less willing to back de-SPAC deals, and valuations for clean-tech start-ups fell. In May 2023 the company called off a shareholder meeting that would have extended its deadline, and it received an NYSE notice for filing a quarterly report late.

On June 5, 2023, the company said it would dissolve because it could not finish a business combination by its June 7 deadline. The shares and units stopped trading after June 7, and public shares were redeemed for about $10.48 each, net of taxes and expenses, from a trust of about $301 million. The warrants expired worthless, and the company was then wound up.