Leonardo DiCaprio-Backed Electric Automaker Polestar Valued At $20 Billion In SPAC Deal

Jill Goldsmith
·1 min read
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Polestar, the electric vehicle company backed by Volvo of Sweden and Leonardo DiCaprio was valued at $20 billion in a SPAC deal that will take it public.

The company, founded in 2017 by Volvo Cars and Chinese automotice group Zhejiang Geely Holding, has two cars, Polestar 1 and Polestar 2, currently on roads in Europe, North America and Asia and plans to launch three new models by 2024. Existing investors include Volvo Car Group, Geely and actor and activist DiCaprio.

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The company Monday announced plans to merger with a SPAC, or special purpose acquisition company, Gores Guggenheim, formed by the Gores Group global investment firm, and Guggenheim Capital. On closing, a new public company called Polestar Automotive Holding UK Limited will be listed on the Nasdaq market under the ticker symbol PSNY. The transaction implies an enterprise value for the business of approximately USD $20 billion. SPACS, called “blank check” companies, are created by investors often teamed with executives to raise cash by going public. They scout for promising private companies to buy. Those companies get automatic public listings without having to go through an onerous IPO process.

The actor is a longtime environmental activist who has established foundations and raised funds for organizations from the WWF, the Natural Resources Defense Council, Global Green USA and the International Fund for Animal Welfare. He’s a founding board member of Re:Wild, which aims to protect and restore biodiversity. In 2014, The Secretary-General designated DiCaprio as a Messenger of Peace with a special focus on climate change ahead of the 2014 Climate Summit.

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