Shanghai Auto Show 2021: Volvo’s premium EV brand Polestar may ride on the back of a SPAC listing to get access to funding
- There are options on the table other than SPACs, Polestar CEO Thomas Ingenlath says
- Carmaker raised US$550 million in a financing round this month led by Chinese investors
Polestar, the Swedish high-performance electric vehicle (EV) brand owned by Volvo Cars, was considering, among other options, a merger with a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) to raise more capital, its chief executive said on Monday.
SPACs, also known as blank-check companies, are shell firms that raise funds in an initial public offering with the aim of buying a private company. For the company being acquired, the merger is an alternative way to go public over a traditional listing.
Polestar raised US$550 million in a financing round this month led by Chinese investors Chongqing Chengxing Equity Investment Fund Partnership, Zibo Financial Holding and Zibo Hightech Industrial Investment. South Korean conglomerate SK’s investment arm I Cube Capital also took part in the deal.
Ingenlath said on Monday that China’s EV revolution was in danger of becoming a plaything for speculators. “What is at stake here is not how much financiers think a company is worth. But the chance to revolutionise the auto industry, turn it electric and at the same time make a huge contribution to protecting the climate,” he said. “Put against these important themes, a market valuation is a very insubstantial and meaningless marker of success.”