-December 13, 2021 at 5:53 a.m. Pacific Time
As a result of the new merger transaction, Harley-Davidson’s electric motorcycle company LiveWire will become the first publicly listed electric motorcycle company in the United States.
The transaction consists of three companies: Harley-Davidson, Special Purpose Acquisition Corporation (SPAC) AEA-Bridges Impact Corp and Taiwanese electric scooter giant KYMCO.
The transaction will be funded by US$400 million in cash held by AEA-Bridges Impact Corp, Harley-Davidson's US$100 million investment, and KYMCO's US$100 million financing through a private equity investment (PIPE) transaction.
The shares of the new company are expected to be listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol LVW.
After the announcement this morning, Harley-Davidson stock (HOG) is currently up about 10% in premarket trading.
As Harley-Davidson Chairman, President and CEO Jochen Zeitz explained:
“Today’s announcement is a historic milestone. LiveWire will become the first publicly listed electric motorcycle company in the United States. Based on Harley-Davidson’s 118-year pedigree, LiveWire’s mission is to become the most popular electric motorcycle brand in the world. , Leading the electrification of the global movement. This transaction will give LiveWire the freedom to fund new product development and accelerate its listing model. LiveWire will be able to operate as an agile and innovative public company, while benefiting from its strategic partner Harley-Davidson And KYMCO’s large-scale manufacturing and distribution capabilities."
After the transaction is completed next year, Harley-Davidson will maintain a 74% controlling stake in the new company. ABIC’s shareholders will hold approximately 17%, and ABIC’s founders and KYMCO will each hold approximately 4%.
Harley-Davidson’s electric motorcycle project started within the company. The first model released was the Harley-Davidson LiveWire electric motorcycle, which became the country's best-selling electric motorcycle.
Although LiveWire was developed in-house by Harley-Davidson, it was decided to spin off HD’s electric ambitions into a new brand called LiveWire for short.
This led to the shedding of the HD brand and the re-release of LiveWire motorcycles as LiveWire One at a much lower price.
This move comes after Harley-Davidson took a similar action last year when it spun off its internal electric bike project into an electric bike startup called Serial 1.
Facts have proved that the SPAC merger is a popular way for two-wheeled electric vehicle companies to quickly enter the US stock market.
Gogoro recently announced that it is following a similar path to send it to the Nasdaq SPAC.
LiveWire claims that to become the first publicly listed electric motorcycle company in the United States may need to add a little asterisk. Although Gogoro’s 50+ mph (80+ km/h) electric two-wheeled vehicle is generally considered a scooter rather than a motorcycle, the publicly traded Arcimoto three-wheeled fun utility vehicle is technically Motorcycles in the legal sense. However, Arcimoto has spared no effort to avoid calling its vehicles motorcycles, so it is unlikely that the company will fight back too hard for the title.
Compared with traditional electric motorcycles such as Zeros and Energicas, HD's LiveWire will definitely become the first on Wall Street.
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Micah Toll is a personal electric car enthusiast, battery fan, and the author of Amazon’s top best-selling books "DIY Lithium Battery", "DIY Solar" and "The Ultimate DIY Electric Bike Guide."
You can send him a reminder via Micah@electrek.co
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