Lotus Tech on Tuesday said it has inked a deal with the special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) L Catterton Asia Acquisition Corp (LCAA), following which the Chinese luxury electric vehicle maker will list in the US.
As per the deal, the merged entity will list on the Nasdaq and have an enterprise value of $5.4 billion, taking into account up to about $288 million of cash in LCAA’s account. Its EV manufacturing unit is based in China’s Wuhan.
Last year, Lotus Tech said it had completed a fundraising round that valued the business at nearly $4.5 billion. Lotus Tech is jointly owned by Chinese automaker Geely and Malaysia’s Etika Automotive.
The company said its first fully electric hyper SUV, Eletre, is expected to begin delivery in China in the first quarter of this year, and in the UK and EU later this year. It is also working on plans to deliver Eletre to the US and the rest of the world.
“The global EV market is expanding rapidly, with the luxury segment growing at a faster pace than the broader industry. China, the EU, the UK, and the US are expected to fuel the majority of this growth over the next decade as government policies in these regions provide further tailwinds for EV sales,” said Chinta Bhagat, Co-Chief Executive Officer of LCAA and Managing Partner in the Asia fund of L Catterton.
Lotus Tech said it aims to use the proceeds from the deal for product innovation, next-generation automobility technology development, global distribution network expansion and general corporate purposes.
The combined company’s board of directors is expected to include one director designated by LCAA. Lotus Tech’s current leadership team led by CEO Qingfeng Feng will continue to lead the merged company.
L Catterton Asia Acquisition is a blank cheque company incorporated for the purpose of effecting a merger, capital stock exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase, reorganisation or similar business combination with one or more businesses or entities. LCAA raised $250 million when it went public in 2021.
Following the deal, all existing Lotus Tech shareholders, including Geely Holding, Etika, and NIO Capital, are expected to retain their shares in Lotus Tech and own a total of about 89.7% of the equity of the combined company.