U.S. electric vehicle maker Xos Trucks Inc is in talks to go public via a SPAC Reuters reported late Monday, citing sources. Xos is working a deal to merge with blank-check acquisition company NextGen Acquisition Corp $NGAC which could value the EV start up near $2 billion. Its customers include package delivery United Parcel Service Inc and cash-handling firm Loomis.
U.S. electric vehicle maker Xos Trucks Inc is in talks to go public via a SPAC Reuters reported late Monday, citing sources. Xos is working a deal to merge with blank-check acquisition company NextGen Acquisition Corp $NGAC which could value the EV start up near $2 billion. Its customers include package delivery United Parcel Service Inc and cash-handling firm Loomis.
Image: Xos Truck Customer UPS
Reuters sources say NextGen is in discussions with investors about raising financing for the deal in the form of a private investment in public equity (PIPE). If the talks are successful, an agreement could be announced as early as this month, the sources added.
The sources cautioned that the negotiations could end with no agreement and asked not to be identified because the matter is confidential. Xos and NextGen declined to comment.
NextGen’s share price rose sharply on the news popping 12% to $11.69 before trading was halted due to volatility and then resumed to a high of $14.63. NGAC closed up around $14 with a gain of 34%.
Purpose Built Xos Electric Chassis
The result is a purpose-built XOS electric chassis, a “skateboard” that can accommodate a range of bodies for various applications. The focus at present is a Class 6 fully electric delivery truck that is in pilots with UPS and Loomis, a cash-in-transit provider. XOS builds its batteries from scratch and engineers its own software and vehicle controls. As opposed to liquid cooling, the batteries use an air-cooling system. This is better suited for commercial truck applications, Sordoni says, allowing for a safer, more energy dense, and less expensive battery that isn’t designed to fit in the tight space of a passenger car.
“Our (electric) step van really doesn’t need to do zero to 60 in three seconds,” he says. “It’s going to be on the road for a long time. We’re building a battery pack more focused on cost and durability than on performance characteristics.”
XOS partners with Utilimaster and Morgan Olson to provide the van bodies for the UPS and Loomis EVs.
The Loomis trucks are armored and therefore heavier, and as some Loomis routes involve coin transfers, payloads can max out at 10,000 lbs. Semler says the XOS trucks in the Loomis application can travel up to 120 miles, which is well within their normal daily delivery range of 60 to 80 miles. With less weight to carry, the UPS electric vehicles achieve the same range but with fewer battery packs.
“UPS parcel delivery vans average about 65 miles per day, so they are still able to get back to the depot and not worry about range anxiety,” Co-founder Damien Semler says.
About XoS
XoS, based in North Hollywood, California rebranded itself from Thor in 2019, builds electric trucks designed to replace equivalent diesel vans. Its customers include package delivery United Parcel Service Inc and cash-handling firm Loomis.
About NextGen
NextGen is a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) led by ex-Goldman Sachs Group Inc banker George Mattson and Gregory Summe, who previously was managing director at buyout firm Carlyle Group Inc. It raised $375 million in an initial public offering (IPO) on Nasdaq in October. Xos would be the latest company developing an electric truck to go public through a merger with a SPAC, following the likes of Nikola Corp and Lion Electric Co.
A SPAC is a shell company that raises funds in an IPO with the aim of acquiring a private company, which then becomes public as result of the merger. For the company being acquired, the merger is an alternative way to go public over a traditional IPO.
Source: Reuters, Business Fleet
From the TradersCommunity Research Desk