Driverless-car startup Luminar Technologies will go public in a $3.4 billion merger with blank-check company Gores Metropoulos (GMHI) - Get Report.
The company, backed by the investor Peter Thiel, will go public through a $400 million cash payment from Gores Metropoulos and $170 million of financing into Luminar from investors including Thiel, Volvo Cars Tech Fund and others.
The Gores Metropoulos team "has deep experience in technology and automotive and shares our vision of a safe autonomous future,” Luminar Chief Executive Austin Russell said in a statement.
At last check Gores Metropoulos shares were trading up 4.5% at $10.98. They've traded on Monday as high as $11.60, up more than 10%.
The combined company will have a pro forma enterprise value of some $2.9 billion and an equity value of $3.4 billion after closing. It's expected to trade on Nasdaq under the symbol LAZR.
All current Luminar holders will roll their equity stakes into the combined company , Luminar said.
Luminar, based in Palo Alto, Calif., and employing 350, also said on Monday that it added 16 former members of Samsung's Munich-based Drvline autonomous-driving platform team to its software team.
The addition of the members will enable the company to bring a full-stack advanced driver-assistant system to market, Luminar said.
"Luminar represents a rare opportunity to invest in the leading player in autonomous-driving technology for cars and trucks," Metropoulos Chief Executive Alec Gores said. "Luminar is well positioned to dominate the autonomous landscape and together, we look forward to shaping the future of automotive transportation.”
The CEO at Luminar, Russell, is 25. At age 17 he received a Thiel fellowship to build out Luminar.
Thiel is the venture capitalist who co-founded PayPal (PYPL) - Get Report and Palantir.
Gores is founder and CEO of Gores Group, the Los Angeles private-equity firm.
The transaction, which has been approved by the boards of both companies, is expected to close in the fourth quarter of this year.
from Hacker News https://ift.tt/3j8VEU9
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