Newcleo Ltd. ("newcleo" or the "Company") is an established nuclear energy company developing advanced modular, lead-cooled fast reactors (LFRs) and mixed oxide (MOX) nuclear fuel from reprocessed nuclear materials.
newcleo ranked as a leading advanced modular reactor company in Europe in an independent review by the OECD Nuclear Energy Agency, reflecting the maturity of its technology, fuel strategy, and project development progress.
The proposed business combination is intended to accelerate newcleo's US growth strategy, including leveraging its established European projects as a foundation for execution and deployment.
newcleo operates in seven countries, with over 900 employees and generated approximately $80 million in revenue, other income and financial income in 2024 from its nuclear equipment supply chain operating companies.
newcleo has made substantial R&D investments since its founding, as demonstrated by its patent portfolio covering 31 patent families across both its LFR design and MOX fuel processing.
newcleo has raised approximately $780 million of private funds since its founding in 2021 to fund this growth as well as its licensing and siting progress.
newcleo's CEO and founder Stefano Buono is an accomplished physicist and a veteran public company CEO with a proven track record of delivering superior returns to shareholders. He is complemented by a seasoned management team with deep nuclear industry and public company experience.
In October 2025 the Company announced the intention to form a strategic partnership with Oklo Inc. (NYSE:OKLO) to build advanced nuclear fuel manufacturing infrastructure; combining newcleo's MOX expertise with Oklo's U.S. metal-fuel technology in support of U.S. energy security.
Oklo announced on May 26, 2026 that it has been selected by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) for advanced negotiations under the Surplus Plutonium Utilization Program. In partnership with newcleo, Oklo would lead the utilization of surplus plutonium, while newcleo would bring relevant fuel-cycle experience.
The transaction values newcleo at a pre-money equity value of approximately $2.4 billion and is expected to provide up to $429 million in gross proceeds, from a combination of PIPE proceeds of $220 million and up to $209 million of cash held in the NewHold Investment Corp III (NASDAQ:NHIC) ("Newhold") trust account, before accounting for redemptions and transaction expenses.
The oversubscribed PIPE is committed at $10.00 per share, with 22 million ordinary shares to be issued for a total of $220 million, and is anchored by a group of new strategic and institutional investors, with additional participation from several existing shareholders.
The combined company is expected to be listed on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol "NWCL" following an anticipated transaction close in the second half of 2026.
newcleo and NewHold will host a joint investor conference call to present the proposed transaction on May 27, 2026, at 8:00 AM EST. To access the conference call, please visit https://www.newcleo.com/investors or via dial-in at 1-800-267-6316 or 1-203-518-9783 with passcode NEWCLEO.
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