Luminar To Go Public Via $3.4B SPAC Merger

Driverless car startup Luminar Technologies Inc., backed by tech billionaire Peter Thiel, is going public via a $3.4 billion merger with blank-check company Gores Metropoulos Inc., bolstering efforts to get its laser sensors onto the production lines of global automakers.

Investors in Gores Metropoulos cheered the deal, sending the entity’s shares up as much as 10% to $11.60 apiece, the biggest jump since March 2019. The stock traded at $11.49 at 9:33 a.m. in New York, giving the company a market value of $573 million.

The deal will be paid for with $400 million in cash from the blank-check company, as well as $170 million from other investors including Thiel, a unit of Volvo Car AB and GoPro Inc. founder Nick Woodman, according to a statement on Monday that confirmed an earlier Bloomberg News report.

Luminar is the latest entity to merge with a special purpose acquisition company, or SPAC. The investment vehicles have gone mainstream this year, offering a faster route for startups seeking to go public without the scrutiny or risks of an initial public offering.

Full Content: Bloomberg

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