Car manufacturer General Motors (GM) agreed on Friday to acquire the stake in US-based autonomous driving technology developer Cruise held by internet and telecommunications group SoftBank’s Vision Fund for $2.1bn.
Cruise has developed autonomous vehicles for use as taxis. It was spun off by GM in 2018, two years after it acquired the company in a $1bn cash and stock deal.
GM is also making a $1.35bn primary investment in Cruise which will replace the funding pledged by Vision Fund in 2018. It was set to be triggered when Cruise launched a commercially available autonomous taxi service, an event which occurred last month.
Vision Fund made the pledge when it invested an initial $900m as Cruise was spun off. It returned for a $1.15bn round the following year alongside GM, automotive manufacturer Honda and investment management firm T Rowe Price at a $19bn valuation.
GM and Honda both came back for a January 2021 round sized at over $2bn that included software provider Microsoft and undisclosed other investors. Retailer Walmart joined unnamed others to add $750m three months later.
Cruise had acquired Voyage, an autonomous taxi developer backed by carmaker Jaguar LandRover and petroleum supplier Chevron, for $52m in March 2021.
GM’s chairwoman and CEO, Mary Barra said: “We are extremely pleased to announce GM is leveraging the strength of its balance sheet to capitalise on the opportunity to increase its equity investment in Cruise and advance our integrated autonomous vehicle strategy. We continue to believe our investment represents an extraordinary opportunity for creating long-term shareholder value.
“Our increased investment position not only simplifies Cruise’s shareholder structure, but also provides GM and Cruise maximum flexibility to pursue the most value-accretive path to commercialising and unlocking the full potential of [autonomous vehicle] technology.”
Photo courtesy of Cruise LLC.
