The Nightcap: SPACs Still Loving LiDAR

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Quanergy Systems Inc, a supplier of self-driving car technology, is nearing a deal to go public through a merger with Chinese blank-check acquisition firm CITIC Capital Acquisition Corp, people familiar with the matter said on Monday.

Quanergy would be the latest company developing LiDAR technology - which uses laser beams to help generate a three-dimensional map of the road - to turn to a so-called special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) to go public.

Others that have done so include Peter Thiel-backed Luminar Technologies Inc and AEye.

The SPAC deal would value Quanergy at $1.1 billion and could be announced as early as this week, the sources said.

Amazon.com Inc. has placed an order for 1,000 autonomous driving systems from self-driving truck technology startup Plus and has acquired the option to buy a stake of as much as 20%, Plus said in a regulatory filing, confirming an earlier Bloomberg report.

Amazon has the right to buy preferred shares of Plus via a warrant at a price of $0.46647 per share, the filing shows. That amounts to a roughly 20% stake based on Plus’s shares outstanding before its planned merger with special purpose acquisition company Hennessy Capital Investment Corp. V (HCIC: $10.18)

The Sequoia Capital China-backed company, which is developing autonomous driving technology for long-haul trucking, is set to have a valuation of $3.3 billion, adding $500 million in proceeds to accelerate its expansion, the company said in a statement in May. The company raised $150 million via so-called private investment in public equity, or PIPE, from funds including BlackRock Inc. and D.E. Shaw.

Plus declined to comment via an emailed statement. A representative for Amazon said the company couldn’t immediately comment.

Cupertino, California-based Plus is among a handful of startups trying to up-end a fragmented long-haul trucking business with driverless technology. It has been working with Chinese delivery company SF Holding Co., which uses Plus-enabled trucks that can cover 1,500 kilometers (932 miles) a day, Plus said in April. State-owned China FAW Group Co. plans to start mass production of jointly-developed autonomous trucks this quarter, Plus has said.

Forum Merger III Corporation and Electric Last Mile, Inc. today announced that Forum’s management team purchased approximately $4.9 million, or 500,000 shares, of Forum’s common stock on the open market.

“This additional investment in Forum ahead of our business combination with Electric Last Mile, Inc. is a testament to our confidence in ELMS’ future as a leader in the commercial electric vehicle industry,” said a member of the Forum management team. “With an expected first-mover advantage and seasoned leadership team, we believe ELMS is strongly positioned to redefine the last mile industry and we look forward to supporting their efforts. As we approach the close of the business combination, we continue to be excited for the future of ELMS.”