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Einride, a self-driving truck company, will go public through a SPAC deal valued at $1.8 billion.

The Swedish autonomous trucking firm Einride announced on Wednesday that it had agreed to become public in the U.S. via a merger between Legato Merger Corp III and a blank-check company. This deal valued the company at approximately $1.8 billion.

Listing comes after a surge of electric vehicle startups that went public during pandemic-era SPAC with the goal of capitalizing on huge demand for clean energy vehicles and government incentives to purchase battery-powered automobiles.

Since then, a number trucking and vehicle technology startups, including Nikola, Lordstown Motors and Proterra, have failed due to competitive pressures and operational challenges. They also suffered from rapid cash burn because of high production costs and inability to reach profitability.

As they look to commercialize the self-driving tech, which is under intense regulatory scrutiny, autonomous trucking companies are seeking to automate logistics and shipping in order to meet the increased demand for faster freight deliveries.

Einride wants to increase its growth by attracting up to $100,000,000 in private equity investment. The deal was also strengthened by the $100m it raised from institutional investors in October.

After the transaction closes, the existing management of Einride will continue to run the firm.

A SPAC is a shell company that raises funds through an IPO in order to merge with a privately owned business and bring it public. This provides a faster route to market than a conventional IPO.

Einride, a Swedish company founded in 2016, has its headquarters in Stockholm. Its business revolves around self-driving technologies for trucks. The company has more than 25 enterprise clients, including GE Appliances, and has a fleet around 200 electric cars. (Reporting and editing by Shailesh Kuber in Bengaluru. Zaheer Kachwala is based in Bengaluru.

(source: Reuters)