Electric vehicle maker Fisker is expected to go public through a merger with a company backed by alternative investment manager Apollo Global Management with a combined value of $2.9 billion, the companies stated Monday.
The California-based automaker is going to merge with Spartan Energy Acquisition, a special purpose acquisition company. The deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter, officials stated.
Spartan Energy opened Monday at over $20 per share but then gave up those early gains. The stock was later up more than 2.5%, in heavy volume.
The deal resembles that of all-electric vehicle start-up Nikola, which went public during June 2020 through a reverse merger with VectoIQ.
The proposed deal is expected to provide Fisker with the necessary funding to launch its first product, the Fisker Ocean, to production in late 2022.
Henrik Fisker, founder, chairman, and CEO of Fisker said that the deal was the best way to get to the automobile to production. He said the company will not need to raise any extra capital to launch the product.
The company, according to Fisker, prepares to share hardware of the vehicle with other automakers. He refused to discuss where the vehicle will be produced, saying Fisker does not think about building its own plant.
Fisker, a well-known auto designer, has been talking about bringing a new all-electric vehicle to market for some years. He first promised a luxury sedan to compete Tesla Model S before switching gears to the Ocean, a mainstream crossover. The sedan, according to the company’s website, is still on its plans but there’s no launch date decided yet.
Fisker is credited for designing the BMW Z8 and Aston Martin DB9. He earlier launched a company with the same name that brought a plug-in hybrid vehicle to the market called the Karma. The company went bankrupt in 2013. Wanxiang Group, a Chinese company, bought the company’s assets but Fisker retained the company’s name.
Cowen, Credit Suisse, and Goldman Sachs are serving as co-placement agents on the private investment in public equity offering.
