The Lucid Air sedan, which is anticipated to enter manufacturing subsequent yr at a plant being constructed in Arizona.
Lucid
Electrical car agency Lucid Motors plans to go public at an $11.75 billion mixed fairness valuation and $24 billion pro-forma fairness worth by a reverse merger with a blank-check firm began by veteran funding banker Michael Klein.
The deal between Newark, California-based Lucid and Churchill Capital Corp IV is the most important in a collection of such tie-ups involving EV corporations and blank-check corporations, also called a particular goal acquisition corporations, or SPACs.
Earlier SPAC offers with EV start-ups resembling Nikola, Fisker and Lordstown Motors garnered pro-forma valuations of lower than $4 billion, however Lucid is farther alongside than these corporations. Lucid is ready to ship its first car – a luxurious sedan known as the Air – this spring.
The deal will generate about $4.4 billion in money for growth plans for Lucid, together with its present manufacturing unit in Arizona.
Shares of CCIV fell by roughly 30% to $40 in prolonged buying and selling.
Lucid is led by ex-Tesla engineering govt and automotive veteran Peter Rawlinson, who joined the corporate as chief expertise officer in 2013 earlier than including CEO to his duties in April 2019. He’ll proceed in these roles following the anticipated closure of the deal within the second quarter, based on the businesses.
Lucid was based in 2007 as Atieva, a reputation it now makes use of for its engineering and tech arm that provides batteries to electrical racing circuit Components E. The corporate first centered on electrical battery expertise earlier than altering its title and shifting to an electrical car producer in 2016, three years after Rawlinson joined the corporate to steer its expertise improvement.
Lucid had some problem acquiring capital to fund its plans till September 2018 when it acquired $1 billion from Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund.
Rawlinson final yr described SPAC offers as fast cash, however not sufficient capital to carry a car to manufacturing in-house, which has led corporations resembling Fisker to hunt contract producers.
Previous to the announcement with Klein’s agency, Rawlinson stated the corporate had the funding to start out producing the Air at a plant in Casa Grande, Arizona, which is situated southeast of Phoenix.
The brand new funding is anticipated to help Lucid in its growth plans. Rawlinson expects the Air to be the catalyst for a lineup of future all-electric automobiles, together with an SUV beginning manufacturing in early 2023 and extra reasonably priced automobiles down the road.
Lucid presently employs practically 2,000 folks, with 3,000 staff anticipated to be added within the U.S. domestically by the tip of 2022, based on the corporate.
The deal features a whole funding of about $4.6 billion. It’s being funded by $2.1 billion in money from CCIV and a $2.5 billion totally dedicated PIPE at $15 per share by Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund in addition to funds and accounts managed by BlackRock, Constancy and others.
