Polestar’s SPAC deal to raise $850 million, official this week

Polestar and Gores Guggenheim, a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC), are expected to formalize their pairing this week and raise about $850 million ($1.2 billion) for product development, R&D and footprint growth.

The merger is expected to close on Thursday, pending approval from shareholder Gores Guggenheim following the SPAC shareholders’ meeting.

Polestar common stock will begin trading on Nasdaq from June 24 under the new ticker symbol ‘PSNY’. Startup EV IPOs have cooled down recently, but all systems are up and running.

The infusion includes fully committed private investment in public equity (PIPE) as well as cash in trust, Polestar said.

This increase will support the Sweden-based electric vehicle brand, founded by Volvo and Zhejiang Geely Holding Group, with aggressive growth plans including the launch of one model per year.

It currently sells Polestar 2 sedans in Europe, North America, China and Asia Pacific including Australiawhere it came last year. It recently signed an agreement with Hertz offers 65,000 of them for rent, scale up.

Next to Polestar 3 SUV gets teased a lotwill share bones with the Volvo XC90 successor and launch in October 2022.

Smaller Polestar 4 crossover set for 2023 and Polestar 5 GT four-door coming in 2024 – bringing the Polestar Precept concept to life.

Polestar says it wants to produce a truly climate-appropriate vehicle by 2030.

Polestar vehicles are currently manufactured at two facilities in China, with additional production planned in the future in the US.

Polestar CEO Thomas Ingenlath called the paired listing “a pivotal moment for the company”.

“Our team has worked hard and that work is paying off. We are excited about the future of Polestar and will continue to build world-class electric vehicles, grow a community of passionate customers and expand into even more markets globally,” he added. .

Gores Guggenheim President Alec Gores said: “To have a limited amount of acquisition money in this challenging macro environment is an incredible feat and speaks to the strength of the Polestar brand – as well as belief. our investors’ enthusiasm for Polestar’s potential.”

“We are proud of the momentum Polestar has built over the past few months and we expect the business combination expected to close this week.”

Polestar expects to grow sales to 290,000 by 2025, up from 29,000 last year, and hopes to break even by 2023.

THAN: CEO says Polestar seeks to compete with Porsche