Air taxi startup Volocopter eyes fresh capital, SPAC an option - CEO (updated)

Tokyo Century

18/03/2021 16:38

(Writes through with interview, context)
    By Nadine Schimroszik and Douglas Busvine
    BERLIN, March 18 (Reuters) - German air taxi startup
Volocopter plans to raise fresh funds from investors, its Chief
Executive Florian Reuter said on Thursday, adding that a deal to
go public via a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) was
one option.
    Volocopter this month tapped investors led by U.S. asset
manager Blackrock  BLK.N  for 200 million euros ($239 million)
in backing as it seeks certification for its battery-powered
flying taxi.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N2KT2K8
    "We expect to need more money in the future," Reuter said in
an interview. "You can expect us to continue raising money going
forward."
    Reuter aims to bring the VoloCity air taxi into commercial
service in the next two years, in a race with startups including
U.S. rival Joby which plans to go public via a $6.6 billion SPAC
deal.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N2KT2K8
    Joby, which has partnered with Toyota Motor Corp  7203.T 
and Uber Technologies  UBER.N , has announced it will merge into
Reinvent Technology Partners  RTP.N  in a deal expected to close
in the second quarter.
    SPACs are shell companies that float on the stock market and
then seek a target to merge with. The structure provides a
simpler route to public markets for venture capital-backed
startups than an initial public offering - especially those that
have yet to generate revenue and want to raise fresh funds.
    
    TWIN TRACKS
    Volocopter is pursuing a twin-track strategy with its
drone-like aircraft, trialling a remote-controlled cargo lifter
with logistics group DB Schenker, and developing a two-seater
flying taxi of similar design for urban air transport.
 urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL3N2GH08R
    In Germany, it faces a challenge from Lilium, a Munich-based
air taxi startup whose fixed-wing design is more suited to
longer, inter-city hops. Lilium has been reported to be eyeing a
deal to go public via a SPAC.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL3N2L14GR  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL8N2BG2VH
    Reuter described Volocopter as a technology leader but said
he was aware of the risks of falling behind against rivals with
strong financial backing.
    "What's most important is that you always have enough funds
to implement your strategy, full throttle," he said.
    Asked specifically about whether merging with a SPAC was an
option, Reuter said: "A SPAC is something that is is
interesting, but it's not the only way. There are alternatives.
    "We are exploring various routes to determine what is the
best way forward for Volocopter. We do observe rumours, but we
are not adding to the speculation."
    This month's Series D funding round brought the total amount
raised by Volocopter to 322 million euros, with investors Avala
Capital, Atlantia  ATL.MI , Continental  CONG.DE , NTT  9432.T 
and Tokyo Century  8439.T  coming on board.
 ($1 = 0.8375 euros)

 (Writing by Douglas Busvine
Editing by Arno Schuetze and Keith Weir)
 ((douglas.busvine@tr.com; +49 30 220 133 562;))