U.S EV maker Lucid Motors and Churchill Capital Corp IV (NYSE: CCIV), a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC), have announced that they have entered into a definitive merger agreement. The business combination will allow Lucid to become the latest mobilty company to be publicly listed in the U.S.
The transaction values Lucid at an initial pro-forma equity value of approximately $24 billion.
Lucid says the transaction will provide additional growth capital as it ‘brings the over 500-mile range Lucid Air luxury electric sedan to market and expands rapidly to offer a broad range of electric vehicle products powered by Lucid’s proprietary electric powertrain technology’.
CEO Peter Rawlinson will continue to lead Lucid along with the rest of the company’s leadership team.
Peter Rawlinson, CEO and CTO of Lucid, says: “Lucid is proud to be leading a new era of high-technology, high efficiency zero-emission transportation. Through a ground-up rethinking of how EVs are designed, our in-house-developed, race-proven technology and meticulous engineering have enabled industry-leading powertrain efficiency and new levels of performance. Lucid is going public to accelerate into the next phase of our growth as we work towards the launch of our new pure-electric luxury sedan, Lucid Air, in 2021 followed by our Gravity performance luxury SUV in 2023.”
He adds: “Financing from the transaction will also be used to support expansion of our manufacturing facility in Arizona, which is the first greenfield purpose-built EV manufacturing facility in North America, and is already operational for pre-production builds of the Lucid Air. Scheduled to expand over three phases in the coming years, our Arizona facility is designed to be capable of producing approximately 365,000 units per year at scale. Lastly, this transaction further enables the realization of our vision to supply Lucid’s advanced EV technologies to third parties such as other automotive manufacturers as well as offer energy storage solutions in the residential, commercial and utility segments.”
Michael Klein, Chairman and CEO of CCIV, states: “CCIV believes that Lucid’s superior and proven technology backed by clear demand for a sustainable EV make Lucid a highly attractive investment for Churchill Capital Corp IV shareholders, many of whom have an increased focus on sustainability. We are pleased to partner with Peter and the rest of Lucid’s leadership team as it delivers the highly anticipated Lucid Air to market later this year, promising significant disruption to the EV market and creating thousands of jobs across the U.S.”
Headquartered in Newark, California, Lucid currently employs nearly 2,000 people in the U.S., and intends to continue growing quickly to support the company’s ramp in operations, with 3,000 employees expected to be added domestically by the end of 2022.
Sales expansion is planned for international markets including Europe and Middle East during 2022, and Asia Pacific thereafter.
Keyword: $24 Billion Valuation For Lucid Motors as it Announces Plans to Go Public via Merger