New York, June 1, 2026, 09:02 (EDT)
- Cartesian Growth Corporation III slipped 7.19% to end Friday at $12.53. Premarket signs were light ahead of Monday’s Nasdaq open.
- Shareholders gave the nod to its Factorial Inc. merger. But about $240 million was redeemed out of the trust account.
- The merged firm will trade as Factorial Energy with the tickers “FAC” and “FACWW” when the deal goes through.
Cartesian Growth Corporation III was active premarket Monday after the SPAC dropped 7.19% to $12.53 Friday. Traders looked at the shareholder-backed merger with Factorial Inc., a solid-state battery maker, but heavy redemptions hit the deal. Premarket volume was light, and a market data feed had CGCT at $13.07 as of 8:10 a.m. EDT.
Cartesian is now more than a blank-check company. The SPAC—essentially a listed cash shell set up to merge with a private firm—got shareholder approval for the Factorial deal at its May 27 special meeting. That cleared the main investor hurdle before the company can go ahead with shifting the listing.
Cash is the key issue. Investors holding 23,051,313 Class A ordinary shares redeemed for cash, pulling $239,964,168.33 out of the trust account—about $10.41 per share, according to the filing. That’s around 84% of the 27.6 million Class A shares out before the vote, leaving only a much smaller pool of public shares for the market to price.
Cartesian and Factorial plan to call the merged business Factorial Energy Inc. if the deal goes through. Shares and warrants should trade on Nasdaq as “FAC” and “FACWW” once the transaction closes, the companies said. Closing still depends on the usual conditions. GlobeNewswire
Factorial is working on solid-state batteries, aiming to move past the current lithium-ion batteries with their liquid or gel electrolyte by shifting to a solid one. The U.S. Department of Energy says these designs could be safer, with less risk of leaks after damage or heat swelling.
Factorial pitched its planned Nasdaq debut as a way to pay for a shift from tests and partnerships to full commercial scale. When the deal was unveiled in December, co-founder and CEO Siyu Huang said the platform delivered “longer range, lighter weight, and greater cost efficiency.” Peter Yu, chairman and CEO of Cartesian III, said diligence suggested uses could go beyond autos into the “drone or UAV market.” Business Wire
The space has plenty of action. QuantumScape and Solid Power are the two publicly traded solid-state battery plays, so investors watch them for comparisons, even though they are not at the same stage. QuantumScape was set to open at $8.98, with Solid Power at $3.31.
Factorial lists Mercedes-Benz, Stellantis, Hyundai Motor and Kia as its commercial partners. The company says Mercedes-Benz has road tested its batteries to more than 1,200 km on a single charge, while Stellantis ran lab tests on 77 Ah cells. These results are key for the equity pitch, as battery start-ups are usually valued more for their ability to ramp up manufacturing than for current sales.
Governance is also in focus. Back in April, Factorial said ex-Daimler chief Dieter Zetsche would join the board after the Cartesian deal wraps up. Zetsche said Factorial was notable for its “scientific rigor and commercial discipline,” and pointed to its potential in “mobility, drones, and industrial markets.” Business Wire
Approval doesn’t mean a deal gets done, and even closing doesn’t guarantee the business will work out. The filings say expectations around finishing the deal, making products, business plans, and later performance all depend on future events and could change if things don’t go as planned. Redemptions have also cut the trust cash available, so the real money on the table is lower than the main deal figure, even though PIPE financing — private investment in public equity through a negotiated share sale — is still included.
CGCT still trades more like a typical event-driven de-SPAC name than an established battery firm. Next up for the company: wrap up the deal, complete the move to Nasdaq, and prove that Factorial can bring its battery cells and major partners into production that works in the real world, not just in the lab.
