Xos, a US-based commercial electric vehicle (EV) manufacturer backed by conglomerate Grupo Proeza, agreed a reverse merger with special purpose acquisition company NextGen Acquisition Corp yesterday.
The deal will involve the merged company taking the place on the Nasdaq Stock Market secured by NextGen Acquisition in a $350m initial public offering in October 2020, and it will have an implied pro forma market capitalisation of $2bn.
The deal will be boosted by a $220m private investment in public equity (PIPE) financing anchored by asset manager Janus Henderson Investors and a group of truck dealers led by Thompson Truck Centers.
Founded in 2016, Xos produces commercial vehicles designed to travel on last mile routes made up of predictable paths and travel involving less than 200 miles per day. It secured $20m from Proeza subsidiary Proeza Ventures and private equity firm Build Capital Group in early 2020.
Xos co-founder and CEO Dakota Semler said: “Xos developed its technology and product portfolio in close collaboration with established fleet operators who have provided invaluable ongoing feedback that has informed every aspect of our vehicle design, product engineering, commercial manufacturing and service strategy.
“As a result, we have developed commercial EV solutions that uniquely incorporate customer requirements.”
BofA Securities was financial adviser to Xos on the deal and Cooley was legal adviser, while Goldman Sachs was exclusive financial adviser and lead capital markets advisor to NextGen an sole placement agent for the PIPE financing.
Rothschild & Co was additional financial advisor to NextGen while Credit Suisse was capital markets adviser and Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom was a legal adviser.
