Einride, the Swedish electric and autonomous freight company, has announced that it will merge with a U.S.-listed SPAC (Special Purpose Acquisition Vehicle). Einride currently has $45 million in annual recurring revenue and contracted annual recurring revenue of $65 million from more than 25 customers and 200 vehicles in operation.
The valuation in the merger is targeted to be $1.8 billion and the new company is targeted to have $219 million in cash (before potential redemptions and transaction expenses) and is looking to raise another $100 million.
It is good that the stock market provides actual risk capital to companies and not only buy shares in already profitable companies and wait for dividend and share buybacks. When making such early-stage investments a public market investor should operate like a venture investor: build a diversified portfolio and don’t invest too much into individual companies.
