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Quebec's Lion Electric to list on NYSE with $1.9 billion valuation through merger with U.S. blank-cheque firm
The Lion Electric Co., a promising electric vehicle manufacturer based in Quebec, said it plans to go public through a merger with a U.S. blank-cheque firm Northern Genesis Acquisition Corp.
The combination of the Saint Jerome-based electric bus manufacturer with the Kansas City-based acquisitions company will be worth US$1.9 billion when listed on the New York Stock Exchange, the two companies said Monday.
The merger will see Lion Electric pull in US$500 million in cash to fund the company’s growth strategy, including the build-out of its U.S. manufacturing business. Founded in 2008, Lion Electric has built itself up by putting a total of 300 electric medium-duty vehicles such as trucks and buses on the road.
In September, Lion said it will deliver 10 battery electric trucks to Amazon.com Inc., a move that will help the e-commerce giant to reduce its carbon emissions. Power Sustainable Capital, a subsidiary of Power Corp. of Canada, is Lion’s largest shareholder.
Lion Electric CEO and founder Marc Bedard called the transaction “an important milestone” in its goal to lead the market. “The business combination with Northern Genesis provides us with capital to fund Lion’s strategic initiative,” Bedard said.
Northern Genesis co-founder Ian Robertson said in a release that his acquisitions company targets businesses with an existing customer base that can be “energized by exposure to the public markets.”
“Lion surpasses all our expectations on all these dimensions and we are confident that it has potential to be a great public company in the emerging decarbonized economy,” Robertson said.
Once the merger closes, the combined entity will be listed on the New York Stock Exchange at a price of $10 per share, which would imply a US$1.9 billion market capitalization.
• Email: gmorgan@nationalpost.com | Twitter: geoffreymorgan