Lucid Motors, the luxury electric vehicle maker, is close to a deal for an initial public offering (IPO) at a $12 billion valuation after a deal with Michael Klein‘s special purpose acquisition company (SPAC), Reuters writes.
The merger between Lucid and Klein’s company, Churchill Capital IV Corp, is set to be the biggest in a run of deals by electric vehicle makers like Nikola Corp and Fisker Inc, which have gone public through SPACs as well.
Churchill Capital has started talks with numerous investors to raise $1 billion through selling shares in a private investment in public equity (PIPE) transaction, Reuters writes. The size of that deal could end up reaching $1.5 billion or more, according to the report, and those funds would come in addition to the $2 billion that Churchill already raised in an IPO last year.
The deal could go through as early as this month if the PIPE funding goes through, Reuters writes.
Lucid was founded in 2007 as Atieva by a former Tesla executive Bernard Tse and entrepreneur Sam Weng. The company, which makes electric vehicles, was initially funded through Chinese and Silicon Valley investors, along with additional funding from backers including Chinese auto maker BAIC Motor and Chinese technology company LeEco.
Lucid was also the recipient of a $1 billion investment by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund in 2018 in order to help fund construction of a U.S. assembly plant in Casa Grande, Arizona.
Aric Ohana, co-founder of Envoy, speaking with PYMNTS, said the electric vehicle transition could see a boost from the sharing economy, with Envoy itself giving users the option to utilize shared electric vehicles in various communities like hotels, apartments, offices and other such places.
Ohana said it made more sense to have a shared vehicle among community members to reduce the cost of transportation.
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