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Two electric car companies are going public. Lucid Motors is going public via an SPAC with Churchill Capital (CCIV), and Rivian is going public with an IPO.

What is unique about these two companies is that have yet to deliver a single vehicle to a customer, and are expecting billion dollar values on their companies.

Luxury electric vehicle maker Lucid Motors is getting close to a deal to go public at a roughly $12 billion valuation after veteran dealmaker Michael Klein’s blank-check acquisition firm launched a financing effort to back the transaction, people familiar with the matter said on Tuesday.

The merger between Lucid and Klein’s Churchill Capital IV would be the biggest in a string of deals by electric vehicle makers such as Nikola and Fisker that have gone public by combining with special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs).

Churchill Capital IV has initiated talks with investors to raise more than $1 billion by selling shares in a private investment in public equity (PIPE) transaction for the deal with Lucid, the sources said. The size of the PIPE could reach $1.5 billion or more based on investor demand, one added.

These funds would be in addition to the $2 billion Churchill Capital IV raised in an initial public offering (IPO) in July on the New York Stock Exchange. Lucid and Klein agreed on the key terms of the deal, according to the sources.

CNBC

Rivian, which plans to start deliveries of its R1T electric pickup truck and R1S electric SUV this summer, hasn’t finalized its IPO plans, according to the report, which cited anonymous sources familiar with the matter. The IPO could be pushed back to later this year or 2022, and the valuation may change, the sources said, adding that Rivian has been talking to bankers about its plans.

Rivian has already raised more than $8 billion, including $2.65 billion in its most recent funding round, which concluded in January. The startup was valued at $27.6 billion in that funding round, Bloomberg noted. Investors include Ford and Amazon, which also have deals with Rivian for vehicle-development programs.

Amazon has commissioned Rivian to design three vehicles, including an electric delivery van unveiled in October 2020. The online retail giant plans to put 100,000 of the vans in service by 2030, as part of a wider goal of becoming carbon neutral by 2040.

Ford also has a deal to use Rivian’s skateboard platform for an unspecified future EV. Rivian was also set to build a Lincoln EV at its Illinois factory, but that project was canceled in April 2020 as the coronavirus pandemic took hold.

Motor Authority