Latham & Watkins and Assegaf Hamzah & Partners have advised Indonesian nickel producer PT Merdeka Battery Materials on its 8.75 trillion-rupiah ($586.46 million) IPO on the Indonesia Stock Exchange, with Linklaters acting for underwriters.
This is Indonesia’s second-largest IPO in 2023 so far, coming just days after the $670 million listing of PT Trimegah Bangun Persada, or Harita Nickel, which was advised by Witara Cakra Advocates.
Global demand for nickel had been increasing steadily for more than a decade, but with the ongoing electric vehicle (EV) boom, the demand is set to continue increasing. Nickel is a key component of EV batteries.
The Linklaters team was led by Amit Singh, partner and head of the firm’s South and Southeast Asia capital markets practice.