VinFast on Monday accomplished a merger with listed firm Black Spade Acquisition in a so-called SPAC deal, paving the best way for the Vietnamese EV startup to start out buying and selling on the Nasdaq afterward Tuesday.
The merged firm, referred to as VinFast Auto Ltd., will commerce below the ticker image VFS. VinFast’s present shareholders will personal roughly 99% of the brand new firm.
VinFast first introduced plans for its SPAC deal in Might. On the time, it stated the merged firm can have an fairness worth of greater than $23 billion.
Additionally known as a reverse merger, a SPAC deal entails a non-public firm going public by being taken over by an organization that is already listed, sometimes one arrange solely for the aim, identified in investor circles as a particular goal acquisition firm (SPAC). The benefit is that it avoids the complexity of launching an IPO, a route VinFast initially deliberate to pursue.
2023 Vinfast VF 8 Metropolis Version
In contrast to rival EV startups, VinFast has deep pockets. It is a part of Vietnamese conglomerate VinGroup, which focuses on development and actual property improvement however can be concerned in agriculture, healthcare, retail, tourism, and quite a few different sectors. VinGroup founder Pham Nhat Vuong pledged $2 billion of his personal fortune to see VinFast develop into a globally acknowledged firm.
VinFast can be exhibiting speedy progress. Regardless of solely launching its first automobile in Vietnam in 2018, the corporate has already earmarked the sale of 5 automobiles within the U.S. and began supply of the primary, the VF 8, earlier this yr. It has additionally began development of a plant in North Carolina, which is scheduled to return on-line in 2025.
A few of that progress might have been too quick, nevertheless, because the VF 8 has been extensively panned by reviewers.
“Changing into a U.S.-listed firm marks a big milestone in VinFast’s international growth,” Thuy Le, VinFast’s CEO, stated in an announcement. “Extra than simply transaction on the inventory market, going public displays a strong vote of confidence in our imaginative and prescient and potential, in addition to fulfills our pledge to make sensible, secure, and environmentally pleasant electrical automobiles accessible to everybody.”