CHASM Advanced Materials and Aon Close $25 Million Intellectual Property-based Finance Deal
Massachusetts-based advanced materials company CHASM Advanced Materials, Inc. (CHASM™) and Aon plc (NYSE: AON), a leading global professional services firm, have finalized a $25 million intellectual property-based funding arrangement. Aon’s Intellectual Property (IP) Solutions team combined its proprietary IP valuation tools and a collateral protection insurance policy to help create an IP-collateralized debt structure that allowed CHASM to raise additional funds.
CHASM Advanced Materials is the inventor and manufacturer of nanotube hybrids – a new class of advanced material used by global manufacturers of commercial and industrial products to dramatically improve device technology, transportation, infrastructure, healthcare and natural resources.
“This injection of growth capital for CHASM comes at a critical time in our company history,” said CHASM’s CEO and co-founder David Arthur. “With these funds, we will execute the further expansion of our printed electronics, advanced carbons and advanced membranes businesses. We are delighted to work with Aon as we enter this next phase of our company’s trajectory.”
AgeNT™ transparent heater films are being integrated into headlights, windows and grille areas of transportation vehicles to uniformly and quickly heat up these surfaces for defogging and de-icing. Transparent heaters are especially important for advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) to work properly during inclement weather. NTeC™ conductive and reinforcing additives enable faster-charging batteries and also help address a global environmental issue by decarbonizing concrete. CHASM-H2O™ membranes are being developed to make reverse osmosis (RO) systems for water purification and desalination dramatically more efficient and affordable for people, industry and agriculture.
“Intellectual property is a bedrock of our economy. Working with IP-rich companies, such as CHASM, to leverage their IP to access growth capital is truly defining IP as an important and emerging asset class,” said Lewis Lee, CEO of Aon’s Intellectual Property Solutions. “The ability to access capital based on the true value of an organization’s IP portfolio can open a vast number of doors for companies of all stages and industries.”
“Aon is excited to collaborate with CHASM and their talented management team as they expand the delivery of their IP-driven product sets to the market,” said Randy Sidhu, senior managing director, IP Lending at Aon.
Aon was recently named to Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies list for its ground-breaking IP solutions. IP and intangible assets now represent 90 percent of the value of Fortune 500 companies, but IP value is not widely understood in capital markets. Aon is working with companies like CHASM to help them seek access to minimally dilutive growth capital by valuing intangible assets and structuring capital solutions that leverage such value.
