L Catterton Leads $870m Pre-IPO Funding Round for Lotus Tech

Lotus Technology, the electric vehicle arm of British sports car brand Lotus, has secured $870m of financing commitments this year before its planned listing on the Nasdaq via a special purpose acquisition company, the firm controlled by Chinese car giant Geely Holdings announced yesterday.

The headline figure consists of private investment in public equity financing and convertible notes, used to advance product innovation and expand global distribution, the luxury brand wrote in a newsletter without disclosing the names of the investors. More specifically, Lotus Tech has obtained around $750m of new financing commitments, adding the previous pledges of about $120m announced in April.

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All of the agreements were signed based on a $5.5bn pre-money valuation and the investors are expected to issue public shares upon finishing the new energy vehicle maker’s merger with L Catterton Asia Acquisition, a blank check company. Lotus Tech agreed on the merger with LCAA, a SPAC formed by private equity firm L Catterton which focuses on consumer segments, on Jan. 31.

The resulting company is expected to retain Lotus Tech’s name and its ordinary shares represented by American depositary shares are predicted to carry the ticker ‘LOT’. For Lotus Tech, the portion of shares that are expected to trade freely exceeds 19 percent, excluding existing LCAA shareholders.

Source: Yicai Global

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