Vietnamese electric carmaker VinFast will list in the U.S. by merging with a New York Stock Exchange-listed special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) Black Spade Acquisition Co. (BSAQ), to expands its U.S. footprint and meet growing EV demand.
Key Takeaways
- Vietnamese electric vehicle maker VinFast will list on the New York Stock Exchange via SPAC.
- VinFast, which already sells its VF 8 SUVs in California, raised $2.5 billion in April to fund global expansion.
- VinFast has a maximum annual production capacity of 300,000 cars.
The deal is expected to close in the second half of 2023. The merged entity will have an equity value of $23 billion and an enterprise value of $27 billion. Shares of Black Spade were up about 1% in intra-day trading as of 1:00 p.m. Eastern time.
SPACs are companies created specifically to take private companies public in a process that is quicker than the standard initial public offering (IPO) path. It has been used to take gambling app DraftKings (DKNG) and real estate platform Opendoor Technologies (OPEN) pubic, among others.
Some have raised concerns that SPAC listings overvalue companies. One study found that companies that went public via SPAC saw short-term gains but share prices declined over the long term, hurting investors.
Founded in 2017 and backed by Vietnamese billionaire Pham Nhat Vuong, VinFast is already selling vehicles in California. Early last month, the company received $2.5 billion in funding for global growth plans from Vuong and his company Vingroup.
While China and Europe have been the leading EV markets, emission regulations and tax credits are expected to drive more U.S. EV sales. Worldwide EV sales are expected to rise 35% this year to reach 14 million vehicles, according to the International Energy Agency.
VinFast’s all-electric line includes an SUV, scooters, and buses, but only its VF 8 SUVs are available in North America. The company said it is also planning to expand “soon” to Europe. The company has the capacity to produce a maximum of 300,000 vehicles a year at a highly automated manufacturing facility at Hai Phong in northeastern Vietnam.
“VinFast is very well positioned to take advantage of the EV lifestyle trend and we are very excited about the future potential growth of VinFast in Vietnam and globally,” said Dennis Tam, Black Spade Acquisition Co. Chairman and Co-CEO.
There are a handful of EV makers on U.S. stock markets. Besides Tesla (TSLA), the world’s most valuable EV company, there is also EV truck maker Rivian (RIVN), luxury EV maker Lucid Group (LCID), and the Nikola Corporation (NKLA). Major U.S. automakers like Ford (F) and General Motors (GM) also have EV lines, as do Japanese and German carmakers.
Source: https://www.investopedia.com/ev-maker-vinfast-spac-listing-7497599?utm_campaign=quote-yahoo&utm_source=yahoo&utm_medium=referral&yptr=yahoo