AMCI Acquisition Corp. II

Niharika Ramdev, as Chairman and CEO, and William Hunter, as President and CFO, jointly run the sponsor vehicle. Ramdev leads target identification and negotiation, while Hunter oversees financial structuring and due diligence. The two have operated together across the AMCI Group's SPAC platform since its first vehicle.

It is the second blank-check vehicle raised by the AMCI Group, following AMCI Acquisition Corp. I, which completed a combination with Advent Technologies in February 2021. Each SPAC operates as a separate publicly traded entity with its own trust and shareholder base, but shares common sponsorship, strategy, and leadership under Ramdev and Hunter.

The firm targets industrial technology, energy transition, and mobility — specifically middle-market companies where decarbonization mandates are forcing structural change. It explicitly avoids biotech, consumer internet, and enterprise software, maintaining a hard industrial and hard-science focus that reflects Ramdev's deal background.

The SPAC structure gives AMCI the ability to take a private company public on an accelerated timeline, roughly 4–6 months from LOI to close, compared to 12–18 months for a traditional IPO. This is attractive to industrial targets with lumpy capital needs and a desire for price certainty. The Group runs confirmatory due diligence in parallel with the SPAC's IPO process, shortening the post-announcement work period.

AMCI Acquisition Corp. II announced a definitive business combination agreement with LanzaTech in February 2021, with a pro forma enterprise value of $1.8 billion. LanzaTech converts industrial waste gases into ethanol and sustainable chemicals. The PIPE was backed by strategic investors ArcelorMittal and BASF, reflecting the cross-section of heavy industry and decarbonization that defines AMCI's thesis.

Each AMCI SPAC is structured with a 24-month window from IPO to complete a business combination, though the timeline can be extended with shareholder approval. AMCI Acquisition Corp. II raised its $150 million trust in September 2019 and announced its LanzaTech target roughly 17 months later, consistent with the Group's stated pace.

Yes, the Group typically raises a PIPE — a private investment in public equity — alongside the business combination to meet minimum cash conditions and provide additional balance-sheet capital for the target. The LanzaTech transaction included a $125 million PIPE from ArcelorMittal, BASF, and other institutional investors.