What’s Going On Here?Polestar announced plans to list on the stock market via a SPAC on Monday, in a deal that’ll value the Swedish electric vehicle (EV) maker at $20 billion. What Does This Mean?EV-makers have been the talk of the town for the last year or so, and special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs) – listed shell companies that merge with unlisted companies to fast-track their arrival on the stock market – have been happy to jump on that battery-powered bandwagon. The latest comes courtesy of Volvo-spinoff Polestar, whose $20 billion valuation makes it one of the most valuable EV-makers to list via a SPAC. It’ll also add another $1 billion to the company’s war chest, which it’s planning to use to bump up production, introduce a new model to its line-up, and boost its reach from 14 countries to 30 by the end of 2023. Why Should I Care?For markets: Polestar tops Tesla.
EV-maker valuations have been hitting dizzy heights across the board as the green revolution really starts to bite, and Polestar’s is no different: this deal values the company at more than 12x this year’s forecasted sales (tweet this). It’s still lower than Tesla’s 15x, mind you, and Polestar’s sales growth is in a more promising place too: its revenue is expected to double next year, while Tesla’s is “only” expected to climb 37%.
Zooming out: Make chips, not war.
Polestar does have at least one big hurdle to overcome in the immediate future: ongoing chip shortages, which one consultancy thinks means 14.5 million fewer vehicles – both EV and traditional – will be built between now and 2023. Still, Tesla’s pointed out that chipmakers are going to a lot of effort to build more, which should help improve availability in the sector as soon as next year. | 