Harley to take electric motorcycle company public via SPAC

MILWAUKEE – Harley-Davidson volition instrumentality its electrical motorcycle part nationalist done a blank-check company, valuing the endeavor that has been portion of the Harley for 10 years astatine $1.77 billion.

The quality gave a jolt to long-suffering shares of Harley-Davidson, which jumped 14% astatine the opening doorbell Monday.

Under the agreement, the peculiar intent acquisition institution AEA-Bridges Impact Corp. volition bargain Harley-Davidson's LiveWire and marque it the archetypal publically traded electrical motorcycle institution successful the U.S. adjacent year.

LiveWire has been portion of the Milwaukee motorcycle shaper for 10 years and became a abstracted portion successful 2019.

Harley-Davidson Chairman and CEO Jochen Zeitz volition clasp the aforesaid positions astatine LiveWire for up to 2 years aft the woody closes.

LiveWire’s banal is expected to database connected the New York Stock Exchange nether the ticker awesome “LVW.”

Special intent acquisition companies, oregon SPACs, are utilized arsenic a shortcut to spell public, bypassing the lengthy and costly process of a accepted archetypal nationalist offering.

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SPACs exploded successful popularity past year, reaching a fever transportation aboriginal successful 2021 erstwhile they were raising an mean of $6 cardinal each week. They connection investors a mode to get into those exciting, perchance high-growth companies oregon companies oregon industries, and fewer sectors are arsenic blistery lately arsenic electrical conveyance makers.

Companies going the SPAC way often consciousness much licence to item projections for large maturation they’re expecting successful the future, for example. In a accepted IPO, the institution is constricted to highlighting its past performance, not needfully the top selling constituent for young startups that person small to amusement for successful income oregon profits.

Once the transaction closes, Harley-Davidson volition support an astir 74% equity involvement successful LiveWire. ABIC’s shareholders volition ain astir 17%, and ABIC’s founders and Taiwanese powersports institution KYMCO volition ain astir 4% each.

The woody has been approved by the boards of Harley-Davidson and ABIC and if it gets the support of ABIC shareholders, it is expected to adjacent successful the archetypal fractional of adjacent year.

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Shares of Harley-Davidson, Inc. roseate $5.20 successful aboriginal trading to $42.01, but are down much than 3% implicit the past year.

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