Lucid Motors to go public in largest SPAC deal to date

EV maker Lucid Motors is set to go public through a $11.75-billion merger with a blank-check company — the largest such deal to date.

Reuters reported:

Luxury electric vehicle maker Lucid Motors on Monday agreed to go public by merging with blank-check firm Churchill Capital IV Corp in a deal that valued the combined company at a pro-forma equity value of $24 billion.

Lucid, run by an ex-Tesla engineer, is the latest firm to tap the initial public offering market, with investors rushing into the EV sector, spurred by the rise of Tesla Inc and with emissions regulations toughening in Europe and elsewhere.

Michael Wayland from CNBC wrote:

The deal between Newark, California-based Lucid and Churchill Capital Corp IV is the largest in a series of such tie-ups involving EV companies and blank-check firms, also known as a special purpose acquisition companies, or SPACs.

Previous SPAC deals with EV start-ups such as Nikola, Fisker and Lordstown Motors garnered pro-forma valuations of less than $4 billion, but Lucid is farther along than those companies. Lucid is set to deliver its first vehicle – a luxury sedan called the Air – this spring.

Kristen Korosec from TechCrunch noted:

The private investment and cash from Churchill will provide roughly $4.4 billion in total funding to Lucid. That capital will be put to work to speed up and expand Lucid’s plans. The company plans to begin production and deliveries of the Lucid Air in North America in the second half of this year. The Air will come to Europe in 2022, followed by China in 2023. The Gravity performance luxury SUV is expected to come to market in North America in 2023. The vehicles will be produced at its new factory in Casa Grande, Arizona.