German air taxi startup Lilium to float via $3.3 bln reverse merger

Lilium NV

30/03/2021 06:00

BERLIN, March 30 (Reuters) - German flying taxi startup
Lilium said on Tuesday it would float on the U.S. stock market
via a reverse merger with Qell Acquisition Corp  QELL.O , a
blank-cheque acquisition company, in a deal valuing the combined
company at $3.3 billion.
    Munich-based Lilium is in a race with other aviation
startups to deploy battery-powered aircraft that can take off
and land vertically, offering a new way for travellers to beat
urban traffic and hop between cities.
    It joins U.S. rival Joby in merging with a listed shell
company to raise fresh capital at multi-billion-dollar
valuations, on top of hefty funding already raised from venture
capital backers.
    Lilium said the combination with Qell, led by Barry Engle,
the former president of General Motors North America  GM.N ,
would support its objective of launching commercial operations
in 2024.

 (Reporting by Douglas Busvine, editing by Emma Thomasson)
 ((douglas.busvine@tr.com; +49 30 220 133 562;))