LiveWire will be valued at $1.77 billion through the SPAC merger and listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol LVW. After the listing, Harley-Davidson retains its 74 per cent stake and expects to raise a net $545 million.
On Monday, December 13, US Eastern time, Harley-Davidson Harley Davidson said its electric motorcycle division LiveWire would go public through a merger of SPAC, which is expected to value the combined company at $1.77 billion.
Through the transaction$Harley-Davidson (HOG.US) $LiveWire, the electric vehicle division, and a company named$AEA-Bridges Impact Corp. (IMPX.U.US) $(ABIC)'s SPAC merger to make it a listed company. The terms of the agreement value LiveWire's estimated company at about $1.77 billion, the companies said.
It is reported that LiveWire's shares are expected to be listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol LVW after trading closes in the first half of next year. Harley-Davidson will continue to own about 74 per cent of the new company, while ABIC shareholders will own about 17 per cent. The rest of LiveWire will be owned by Kymco, the founder of ABIC and a Taiwanese power sports company, and Kymco will invest $100m in the deal.
Upon completion of the deal, Johen Zeitz Jochen Zeitz, Harley's chief executive, will serve as chairman of LiveWire for a term of two years.
Harley-Davidson said LiveWire is expected to raise a net IPO of about $545 million, which it plans to use to invest in product development and improve its manufacturing and distribution capabilities.
It is worth mentioning that in recent years, more and more companies are listed through SPAC, that is, through the acquisition of companies for special purposes to carry out alternative forms of innovation of listed companies. To put it simply, SPAC is a "shell". The only purpose of its listing is financing, and then find the investment target within a certain period of time, and turn the target company into a listed company through mergers and acquisitions. This way is not uncommon, Wall Street has previously reported the "American version of Jinri Toutiao" BuzzFeed, "Southeast Asia DiDi Global Inc. + Meituan" Grab and so on are listed in this way.
Century-old Harley listing "just in time"
Earlier this year, Harley launched its first e-bike under the LiveWire brand, which sells for $22000. The move is aimed at younger, greener cyclists who may eventually help boost Harley's sales as core baby boomers get older.
The listing will help the company accelerate product development and manufacturing, while turning the 118-year-old brand to younger customers to expand into a broader market.
At one time, Harley was the representative brand of American motorcycles, symbolizing the Avenue of Freedom, primitive power and good times, and once became the most cultural motorcycle brand in the United States and even in the world. In the 1980s, Harley also gradually expanded from a single motorcycle sales to a Harley cultural system that integrates motorcycle sales, customized modification and boutique clothing sales.
However, waning interest in motorcycles as a form of entertainment, coupled with the price of Harley bicycles, which are even as expensive as some cars, have curtailed the company's efforts to attract young riders.
Of course, there are comments that Harley is the latest beneficiary in the face of rising valuations of electric vehicles. Electric car maker Rivian, which is owned by Amazon.Com Inc, was valued at more than $100 billion on its first day of trading. Earlier this year, Rivian completed one of the world's largest initial public offerings, valuing it at more than Ford and General Motors Co, and even Volkswagen at one point.
In an industry dominated by Tesla, Inc., a broader understanding of climate change is paving the way for carmakers to lean towards greener cars. Valuations of these companies have also risen as fund managers increasingly consider ESG (environmental, social and corporate governance) policies in their investments.
According to Craig Irwin, an analyst at Roth Capital, "it is clear that many traditional OEM (original equipment manufacturers) with emerging electric vehicle businesses can do similar spin-off deals. "
According to an investor report cited by CNBC, LiveWire expects sales of electric bikes to reach 100961 by 2026.
In addition, according to the news on Wall Street, Qianjiang Motorcycle announced in November that it had signed a "second Supplementary Agreement to the long-term Cooperation Agreement" with Harley on the long-term cooperation agreement. Harley intends to buy from the company and the company is willing to supply Harley with target motorcycles with 353cc emissions for supply to specific other markets such as the United States.
Affected by this news, Harley motorcycles rose 6.66% as of the end of the year, 8.3% so far this year. AEAmurBridges Impact rose 2.74% today, and 0.1% so far this year.