SWEDISH electric car maker Polestar said yesterday it will go public by merging with a US-listed blank-check firm backed by billionaire
The deal with
The deal comes at a time when large SPAC mergers have become rare, as the business of blank-check dealmaking deteriorated rapidly over the summer after investors were spooked by the poor financial performance of many SPACs and a regulatory crackdown led by the
Polestar, founded in 2017 by
The premium EV maker's offering includes two models: a hybrid car known as Polestar 1 and a fully electric Polestar 2. It previously said it has another model in development called the Precept, which is a larger sedan.
Polestar delivered about 10,000 vehicles globally last year and expects to sell about 290,000 vehicles per year by 2025. It predicts it will rake in
The company's listing plan comes as automakers shift their focus to environmentally friendly vehicles amid rising pressure from lawmakers and investors concerned about climate change.
Polestar joins other EV makers in the public market, including
Polestar touts an asset-light business model as a key differentiator by having existing productions lines provided by backers Volvo and
"We don't need the capital to build the factory. We can put the money raised into developing the technology and the market," Thomas Ingenlath, Polestar's chief executive, said in an interview.
Reuters
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