Sept 16 (Reuters) – Autonomous ride-hailing technology firm May Mobility has agreed to go public in the U.S. through a $1.4 billion deal with blank-check firm ACP Holdings Acquisition, the companies said on Wednesday.
Developers of autonomous driving systems are attracting growing interest from investors and automakers globally as advances in AI and self-driving technology bring driverless vehicles closer to wider commercial use.
Here are more details:
• The deal is expected to generate up to $337 million in gross proceeds, including a fully committed $120 million private investment in public equity (PIPE) from institutional and strategic investors.
• The deal comes as special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs), an alternative route to public markets, are making a comeback in the U.S. after years of subdued activity.
• A SPAC is a shell company that raises capital through an initial public offering and then uses the funds to merge with or acquire a private business, taking it public without a traditional IPO.
• After the deal closes, May Mobility expects to trade on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol “MAY”.
• Since its inception in 2017, May Mobility said it has raised about $445 million from leading venture investors, strategic corporate partners and financial investors.
• The company said it has completed more than 550,000 commercial autonomous rides across 1.1 million miles in the U.S. and Japan.
• It has partnered with several industry giants, including Uber, Lyft and Grab.
(Reporting by Manya Saini in Bengaluru; Editing by Shilpi Majumdar)
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