A Harley-Davidson LiveWire electric motorcycle.
Photo:
shawn thew/EPA/Shutterstock
Harley-Davidson Inc.’s
HOG 16.54%
electric-motorcycle division will become a separate publicly traded company via a blank-check merger, a move the company said would help accelerate product development and manufacturing.
The deal will combine LiveWire, Harley-Davidson’s electric-vehicle arm, with a special-purpose acquisition company called
AEA-Bridges Impact Corp.
IMPX 3.35%
, making LiveWire publicly traded. The agreement’s terms give LiveWire a pro forma enterprise valuation of about $1.77 billion, the companies said.
At the deal’s closing, expected in the first half of next year, LiveWire shares will trade on the New York Stock Exchange under ticker symbol LVW. Harley-Davidson will continue to own about 74% of the new company, while the SPAC’s shareholders will own about 17%. The rest of LiveWire will be owned by the SPAC’s founders and by Kymco, a Taiwanese powersports company that is investing $100 million in the deal.
LiveWire is expecting net proceeds of about $545 million from the transaction, Harley-Davidson said. It plans to use the proceeds to invest in product development and grow its manufacturing and distribution abilities.
Harley-Davidson Chairman and Chief Executive Jochen Zeitz will also serve as LiveWire’s chairman, and will be its acting CEO for up to two years as it searches for a permanent leader.
Write to Matt Grossman at [email protected]
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