Electric vehicle startup Lordstown Motors going public via SPAC deal

Lordstown Motors is about to become the latest electric vehicle startup to go public via purchase by a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC), the transaction structure that's fast becoming an alternative to IPOs.

The state of play: Lordstown, which plans to build a pickup truck at a former GM plant in Ohio, on Monday announced a merger agreement with DiamondPeak Holdings. The deal will provide $675 million in proceeds to help fund production of the Endurance, a model Lordstown hopes to launch in 2021 aimed largely at the commercial fleet market.

The big picture: Lordstown is one of several electric vehicle companies to use a SPAC to raise money and go public.

• Fisker announced a deal with Spartan Energy Acquisition last month as it seeks to bring an electric SUV to market in 2022.
• And Nikola Motors, which plans to build electric and hydrogen-powered pickups and semi-trucks, began trading publicly in June.

Go deeper: SPACs are the new IPOs