Wednesday November 10, 2021
Tesla rival makes stock market debut
Rivian collects more money than expected
The electric car startup Rivian, which wants to compete with Tesla, is even more popular with investors than expected on its planned debut on the stock market. The US automaker is getting rid of its shares at a higher price than originally thought.
The US electric car developer Rivian met with even greater interest than expected when it went public. The potential Tesla rival placed 153 million shares at $ 78 each, according to a release. This brings the proceeds to 11.9 billion US dollars (10.3 billion euros), making Rivian the biggest IPO this year to date.
Last week, the company announced the sale of 135 million shares at a price of $ 72 to $ 74. The papers are to be traded for the first time on Wednesday. Based on the issue price that has now been set, Rivian is valued at $ 76.4 billion or the equivalent of 66 billion euros. This means that the loss-making US company is worth more than, for example, the German car manufacturer BMW, which recently had a stock market value of almost 59 billion euros.
In the last round of funding prior to going public in January, Rivian was valued at just under $ 28 billion. The e-car company, whose major investors include Amazon and Ford, launched its first electric model in the competitive pick-up segment in September, winning a race with Tesla, among others. In addition, the company, which was founded in 2009, has lucrative large orders for Amazon delivery vans under its belt. Rivian is not yet making any noteworthy sales and is deep in the red.
Founded in 2009, the company has research and development facilities in a number of cities around the world, as well as a 2.6 million square foot manufacturing facility in Normal, Illinois. The vehicles have a range of up to 650 kilometers on a single charge.
Rivian’s partnerships make it a strong competitor to Tesla for a company that in many ways seems to come out of nowhere – especially in the truck and SUV categories where Tesla is less present.