Taiwanese electric scooter maker Gogoro to go public via $2.35 bln SPAC deal

Yadea group

16/09/2021 09:55

* Gogoro to go public via merger with SPAC Poema Global
Holdings 
    * Deal expected to be completed in first quarter of 2022
    * To be listed on NASDAQ 

    By Yimou Lee
    TAIPEI, Sept 16 (Reuters) - Taiwanese electric scooter maker
Gogoro, which is partly backed by Singapore state investor
Temasek, said on Thursday that it will go public through a
merger with a blank-check company in a deal that sets its
enterprise value at $2.35 billion.
    Gogoro - which has been pushing to expand overseas - will
merge with Poema Global Holdings Corp  PPGH.O , a special
purpose acquisition company (SPAC), and list on NASDAQ.
    "The NASDAQ will validate further and give the publicity and
stage that Gogoro needs in order to perform and also to be
recognised as a global company with global resources,"    
founder and CEO Horace Luke told Reuters.
    "It's going to be a really amazing ride for Gogoro." 
    The Taipei-based company, which is known for its battery
distribution network for riders, has in recent years launched
scooter-sharing services in Europe and battery sharing
infrastructure in Japan.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N2ME0QU urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL3N2N50WJ
    It also unveiled plans this year to enter the Indian and
Chinese markets via tie-ups with Hero MotoCorp  HROM.NS ,
Dachangjiang Group, and Yadea Group Holdings  1585.HK .
    In June, Gogoro formed a strategic partnership with Taiwan's
Foxconn  2317.TW , a major Apple  AAPL.O  supplier, to work
together in areas from battery to manufacturing.
    While Gogoro is the fastest-growing and largest electric
scooter maker in Taiwan, it continues to trail major players
such as Kymco and Sanyang Motor  2206.TW  in the market which is
dominated by lower-priced petrol scooters despite government
subsidies on electric vehicles, industry data shows.
    As part of the SPAC deal, Gogoro's shareholders, including
Temasek  TEM.UL  and Japan's Sumitomo  8053.T , will convert all
their holdings and own a majority of the outstanding shares of
the combined company, Chief Financial Officer Bruce Aitken said.
    The deal is scheduled to be completed in the first quarter
of 2022, he added.
    SPACs such as Poema Global raise money through their IPOs to
buy private companies and take them public. Poema Global raised
$345 million in its IPO in January.

 (Reporting by Yimou Lee; Editing by Himani Sarkar)
 ((yimou.lee@thomsonreuters.com; +886-2-8729-5122;))