London startup Arrival valued at $5.4bn in US listing through Spac deal
Electric vehicle startup Arrival has merged with a blank-check company to go public in the US at a listing valued at around $5.4bn.
The London-based company, which was founded in 2015, has agreed to merge with Nasdaq-listed CIIIG Merger Corporation, a special purpose acquisition company (Spac).
This year there has been somewhat of a frenzy for Spacs, which raise money on the stock market to buy an operating company. Having previously been a niche strategy for small investment firms their popularity has grown this year as companies back away from traditional IPOs amid the uncertainty.
Spacs have been behind some high-profile listings of other electric vehicle startups including Nikola and Fisker.
CIIG Merger Corporation was set up by Peter Cuneo, who previously ran Marvel Comics and beauty brand Remington. Blackrock is CIIG’s largest shareholder with a 7.5 per cent stake, according to Refinitiv data.
Arrival said it would receive $660m from the deal, which will complete in the first quarter of 2021, and will include the $260m CIIG raised in its IPO last December and $400m from institutional investors.
Last month the startup said it had raised $118m from Blackrock having previously raised $111m from carmakers Hyundai and Kia. It said the fresh investment would be used to support growth plans as it ramps up production, including the launch of the first US “microfactory” in South Carolina.
It has been positioned as a rival to US-based startup Rivian which is backed by the likes of Ford and Amazon, and is building 100,000 electric vans for the tech behemoth.
Arrival has received an order of 10,000 electric vans from logistics firm UPS, with the option for a further 10,000.