Canoo Holdings Ltd., a company developing breakthrough electric vehicles (EV) from the ground up, and Hennessy Capital Acquisition Corp. IV (“HCAC”) , a special purpose acquisition company, announced they have entered into a definitive agreement for a business combination that would result in Canoo becoming a publicly listed company. Upon closing of the transaction, the combined operating company will be named Canoo Inc. and will continue to be listed on the Nasdaq Stock Market under the ticker symbol “CNOO.”
Canoo is a high-growth EV company, distinguished by its experienced team with an emphasis on engineering expertise and achievement. Canoo has designed the world’s flattest modular “skateboard” platform that allows it to reimagine EV design, maximize usable interior space and support a wide range of vehicle applications. Canoo’s skateboard architecture – a unique, self-contained, independently drivable rolling chassis – directly houses all of the most critical components of an EV. It will feature the market’s first true steer-by-wire platform, which, along with a composite leaf spring suspension, enables the skateboard’s flat structure and maximizes vehicle interior space. Canoo has also developed proprietary electric drivetrain and battery systems which are incorporated into the skateboard. All of Canoo’s EVs will share the same skateboard and utilize different cabins or “top hats” that can be paired on top to create unique vehicles. This highly modular approach will facilitate efficient production at scale and enable Canoo to rapidly develop vehicles serving different market and consumer segments at reduced cost, as the majority of research and development and crash testing is built into the skateboard.
Canoo Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Ulrich Kranz said, “Today marks an important milestone of Canoo’s effort to reinvent the development, production and go-to-market model of the electric vehicle industry. Our technology allows for rapid and cost-effective vehicle development through the world’s flattest skateboard architecture, and we believe our subscription model will transform the consumer ownership experience. We are excited to partner with Hennessy Capital and we are energized to begin our journey through a shared passion to deliver an environmentally friendly and versatile vehicle development platform to the market.”
Daniel Hennessy, Chairman & Chief Executive Officer of HCAC said, “We are thrilled to partner with Canoo on their mission to reinvent urban mobility with a greener, simpler and more affordable portfolio of EV solutions. Unlike any other EV company, Canoo has created a go-to-market strategy that captures both B2C and B2B demand with the same skateboard architecture and technology that has already been validated by key partnerships such as with Hyundai. HCAC has an abiding commitment to sustainable technologies and infrastructure, and we are excited to serve as a catalyst to advance the launch of the Canoo vehicle offerings.”
Led by Kranz, an automotive industry veteran with more than 30 years of executive experience at BMW, together with nearly 300 employees, the Canoo team has already shown its ability to deliver results by successfully designing, engineering and manufacturing its Beta vehicle in just 19 months and has completed more than 50 physical crash tests. Canoo expects to introduce its first model in 2022 that will be targeted at consumers in major urban markets. This lifestyle vehicle – eponymously named the canoo – leverages the company’s low profile skateboard architecture to deliver the highest volume utilization across all classes of competitor vehicles currently on the market and has been purposefully developed for a subscription business model.
In addition, Canoo has designed a commercial delivery B2B vehicle with expected availability in 2023 that directly capitalizes on Canoo’s core skateboard technology. Canoo’s delivery vehicle competes in a size segment that other competitors are currently not addressing and capitalizes on the need for a small, city- built, last-mile delivery solution. This high-efficiency platform maximizes cubic cargo volume and targets the fast growing last-mile delivery market.
Canoo’s consumer go-to-market strategy capitalizes on changing consumer preferences to deliver a month-to-month, commitment-free, subscription-based business model. With a single monthly fee and no upfront payment, Canoo members enjoy the benefits of an all-inclusive experience that, in addition to your own canoo vehicle, includes maintenance, warranty, registration and access to insurance and vehicle charging. This go-to-market model is designed to deliver an affordable and simplified customer experience while also enhancing lifetime vehicle revenue and margin to shareholders.
The business combination values Canoo at an implied $2.4 billion pro forma equity value, at the $10.00 per share price and assuming no redemptions of HCAC’s existing public stockholders. The combined company will receive approximately $600 million of proceeds from an upsized fully committed common stock PIPE offering of over $300 million, along with the approximately $300 million cash held in trust assuming no redemptions of HCAC’s existing public stockholders. The boards of directors of both Canoo and HCAC have unanimously approved the proposed business combination, which is expected to be completed in the fourth quarter of 2020, subject to, among other things, the approval by HCAC stockholders and the satisfaction or waiver of other customary closing conditions.
About Canoo
Canoo is a Los Angeles-based company that has developed breakthrough electric vehicles from the ground up, reinventing the automotive landscape with bold innovations in design, pioneering technologies, and a unique business model that defies traditional ownership to put customers first. Distinguished by an experienced team – numbering nearly 300 employees from leading tech and automotive companies – Canoo has designed a modular skateboard platform purpose-built to deliver maximum vehicle interior space and adaptable to support a wide range of vehicle applications for consumers and businesses. Canoo expects to launch its first consumer model in 2022, simply named the canoo and available only by subscription, followed shortly after by a last-mile delivery vehicle and a sport vehicle, each built off of the same underlying skateboard platform.
