Lucid (CCIV) and Proterra (ACTC) become latest EV companies looking to go public

Lucid Motors (CCIV) and Proterra (ACTC) are the latest electric vehicle companies looking to go public as there’s currently a gold rush in the space.

SPAC frenzy in the EV market

Over the last year, we have seen a surge in the number of companies in the electric vehicle space going public through SPAC deals.

SPACs, or special-purpose acquisition companies, are basically “blank check” shell corporations with the purpose of merging with private companies in order to allow them to be traded publicly without going through the traditional, expensive, and complicated IPO process.

The strategy is seen at best as less prestigious as an IPO, and at worst, much shadier than an IPO as historically, companies in early stages and without revenue have opted to use SPAC deals.

In the EV space, companies like Fisker, Lordstown Motors, and Nikola Motors went that route over the last year.

But more recently, we have also seen bigger names and more experienced companies also make SPAC deals, like QuantumScape, Lion Electric, and Arrival.

Proterra is going public

Now Proterra, an electric bus manufacturer, announced a SPAC deal with ArcLight Clean Transition Corp., which currently trades under the following tickers: Nasdaq, ACTCU, ACTC, and ACTW.

The deal includes $415 million in PIPE Investments led by Daimler Trucks as well as Franklin Templeton, Chamath Palihapitiya, a longtime Tesla investor, Fidelity Management & Research Company LLC, and Funds and Accounts Managed by BlackRock.

It would put Proterra’s valuation at $1.6 billion with over $800 million in the bank to finance their growth.

Unlike many other SPAC deals in the EV space, Proterra is coming on the public market with an already strong reputation as a leader in the electric bus space in North America, with over 500 electric buses delivered to date.

The SPAC deal is expected to close in the first half of 2021.

Lucid is looking to go public

This one is not a done deal yet, apparently, but Bloomberg reports that Lucid is in talks with Churchill Capital Corp IV (CCIV) to go public through a SPAC deal:

A transaction could be valued at up to $15 billion, the people said, asking not to be identified because the matter is private. Lucid, which is backed by Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, is working with financial advisers, the people added. The talks are ongoing but could still fall apart.

The deal would value Lucid at $15 billion.

The company has yet to deliver a vehicle, but it did unveil the production version of the Air, its first car, last year and recently completed construction of its factory in Arizona.

It looks likely that Lucid could start deliveries of its luxury sedan later this year.