MATW receives a favorable arbitration ruling in its on-going dispute with Tesla, allowing the company to continue the commercialization of its proprietary Dry Battery Electrode (DBE) technology
This morning, prior to the market open, MATW disclosed that it had received a positive ruling from the arbitrator meditating its on-going dispute with Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA), which affirmed the company’s right to sell its proprietary Dry Battery Electrode (DBE) technology & solutions to customers other than Tesla.
To that end, the company intends to immediately resume its marketing, selling and delivery activities to provide a wide universe of customers with its innovative DBE products/solutions across the electric vehicle and automotive equipment manufacturer arenas.
Recall, in June 2024, Tesla, an early-adopter of MATW’s DBE technology filed a suit against the company alleging that during their collaboration MATW benefited from the receipt of “trade secrets” and sought to restrict the company’s ability to provide its products/solutions for third-parties customers (outside of Tesla).
Subsequently, in November 2024, MATW was awarded a patent (U.S. No. 12,136,727 B2) titled “Systems for Manufacturing a Dry Electrode”, which management expects will be “foundational” in its effort to drive further innovation (as well as monetization) in the DBE space.
On a separate note, MATW, which agreed to sell its SGK Brand Solutions in January 2025 for upfront consideration of ~$350 million (i.e., $250 million in cash, $50 million, the retention of ~$50 million in securitized trade receivables and $50 million of preferred equity in the new entity) as part of an on-going strategic review (launched in November 2024), remains under pressure from Barington Capital, currently a ~2% owner (up from its initial stake of 0.6%), who has nominated three new independent directors for election at the 2025 Annual Meeting (scheduled for February 20th). Within that context, we note that GAMCO, a ~4.5% holder, recently indicated that it intends to support the company’s current slate of directors (albeit with a keen eye on further corporate governance improvements).
Our base case fair value estimate for MATW is revised to $40 per share, reflecting a blended multiple of ~9.5x multiple on our F2026E adjusted EBITDA of $~$167.5 million and net debt of ~$319.5 million.
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