Electric start-up Lordstown Motors to be listed on stock exchange at $2.25 billion
The company will be publicly listed on the Nasdaq stock market ahead of the launch of its fully-electric pick-up in 2021.
Following the success stories of rivals Nikola, Rivian, Fisker, and Tesla, Lordstown is expected to be listed at an initial valuation of $US1.6 billion ($AU2.25 billion) thanks to a merger deal with DiamondPeak Holdings.
DiamondPeak Holdings is a 'blank cheque' company – a publicly listed organisation with no actual business of its own, existing for the sole purpose of buying a stake in a private company and bringing it to the stock market quickly.
The merger between Lordstown and DiamondPeak side-steps the traditional fanfare involved in an initial public offering (IPO), when a company is listed on a public stock exchange for the first time.
Shares of DiamondPeak Holdings initially rose by 30 per cent on the announcement, with the ticker of the upcoming Lordstown stock to be 'RIDE' when the merger is completed in the fourth quarter of 2020.
Tesla recently overtook Toyota as the world's most valuable car company, thanks to its performance on the stock market.
Lordstown's fully-electric pick-up, the Endurance, is expected to go into production in 2021. Watch the company's recent promotional video at the bottom of this story.
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