Lotus Technology closes an approved merger with Special Purpose Acquisition Company (SPAC) L Catterton Asia Acquisition Corp, paving the way for a Nasdaq debut this week under the ticker symbol “LOT. “
It’s been just over a year since we first learned of Lotus’ plan to take the U. S. stock market public. A once-popular approach to the U. S. is a SPAC merger, an approach that was once popular but has since cooled. SPAC mergers create a publicly traded company to merge with an existing company. .
In the case of Lotus Technology, its SPAC is L Catterton Asia Acquisition Corp ($LCAA), a blank-check company explicitly created for the merger to enable the generation of high-growth customers in Asia. Currently, Lotus is owned by Zhejiang Geely Holding Group in China, where its electric hypercars are also built.
During the January 2023 announcement, we learned that Lotus plans to continue trading under its “Lotus Technology” name, with plans to trade on the Nasdaq exchange under the ticker symbol “LOT. “
This week, Lotus shared an update on the progress of the SPAC merger, which appears to be nearing completion, paving the way for a public directory starting this Friday.
According to Lotus Technology, its previously proposed merger with L Catterton Asia Acquisition Corp is expected to close on February 22, 2024.
Following the SPAC merger, the combined entity will retain the namesake Lotus Technology as planned and its American Depositary Shares (ADSs) will begin trading on Nasdaq on Feb. 23. Lotus CEO Qingfeng Feng spoke about the stock’s closing board:
We are pleased to announce our upcoming debut on the Nasdaq as we finalize our combination with LCAA. This is a pivotal moment in our journey. We look forward to accelerating our expansion as a publicly traded company, leading the electric transformation of the global luxury BEV market with L Catterton. “
In anticipation of the SPAC merger approval, Lotus has raised more than $880 million in pre-closing and personal investment in public equity (PIPE) commitments. The automaker celebrated its 75th anniversary in 2023 and continues its efforts to offer a variety of 100 percent electric luxury cars until 2027.
Lotus Tech will ring the opening bell of the Nasdaq in New York on Feb. 23 to commemorate its IPO. You can watch it here.