Plum IV Cuts CTR Merger Valuation 30% to $3.15 Billion
Deal Stress
Company Background
Plum Acquisition Corp. IV (Nasdaq: PLMK) is a special purpose acquisition company with approximately $258 million in market capitalization whose sole strategic focus is completing a business combination with Controlled Thermal Resources Holdings Inc. CTR is a development-stage California company advancing the Hell's Kitchen geothermal energy and critical minerals project in Imperial County's Salton Sea region.
CTR has not yet generated revenue. The company says it has raised and invested approximately $285 million in private capital to date, holds a Conditional Use Permit for Stage 1 construction, and has entered strategic partnerships with Baker Hughes and Aquatech for its geothermal power and direct lithium extraction process. At full build-out across seven planned stages, CTR projects up to 650 megawatts of baseload power and roughly 100,000 metric tons per year of lithium carbonate—but Stage 1, targeting 50 MW and 25,000 metric tons per year of lithium, has not yet broken ground.
Plum IV held approximately $184.5 million in trust as of July 9, 2026. Shareholders were asked to vote on July 10, 2026 on an extension giving the SPAC until January 16, 2027 to close a business combination, with the option for further monthly extensions through July 16, 2027.
What Was Disclosed
The implied valuation of CTR used to calculate the merger consideration fell from $4.5 billion to $3.15 billion—a reduction of 30%—under a second amendment to the business combination agreement signed on July 6, 2026. The filing provides no explanation for the reduction. Potential earnout shares issuable to CTR shareholders were simultaneously cut from 100 million to 70 million, with each of the eight individual earnout tranches reduced proportionally from 12.5 million to 8.75 million shares.