Volvo's EV Brand Polestar Goes Public Via SPAC At A Value Of $20 Billion

Polestar may not be as well known as Volvo or Tesla for that matter, but the fact of the matter is that it is one of the most important electric car makers in the world. And joins a trend that has been witnessed from many EV startups in 2020 -- a SPAC merger to go public. It has done this despite being part of the big Geely group in China which also owns its parent company Volvo. 

"Polestar Performance AB and its affiliates, the global electric performance car company, and Gores Guggenheim, Inc., a special purpose acquisition company formed by affiliates of The Gores Group and Guggenheim Capital, LLC, announced today that they have entered into a definitive business combination agreement. Upon closing of the proposed business combination, the combined company will be held by a new public company that will be named Polestar Automotive Holding UK Limited, which is expected to be listed on Nasdaq under the ticker symbol "PSNY"," Polestar announced. 

It has merged with Gores Guggenheim and together they have put together $250 million in a PIPE financing deal for over $1 billion in liquidity after the deal. 

Polestar has now done more than 10,000 deliveries 

"The transaction implies an enterprise value of approximately USD 20 billion for the combined company, representing approximately 3.0x 2023E revenue and 1.5x 2024E revenue. Current Polestar equity holders will retain approximately 94% ownership in Polestar and roll 100% of their equity interests into the pro forma company," they revealed in a statement 

Polestar has already delivered 10,000 vehicles and has started operations in several markets that are critical to EVs. 

"This is a really exciting time for Polestar. With two award-winning cars on the road today in 14 active markets across three continents, we seek to expand to 30 markets by 2023. We are thrilled about the targeted addition of three new premium electric cars to our line-up by 2024, starting with our first SUV expected in 2022. In Alec and the Gores Guggenheim team, we have found a partner with an impressive track record of bringing leading companies to the public markets. The proposed business combination and listing position Polestar as a financially strong, future proof, global electric car company. It will enable us to accelerate our growth, strategy and most importantly, our mission towards sustainable mobility," said Thomas Ingenlath, the CEO of Polestar. 

He added that there were plans to add a new electric SUV and two additional models by 2024.