Hindujas, Britain’s second-richest household, is exploring plans to join a wave of “blank cheque” mergers in a transfer that might see one other main UK electric car producer going public within the US. It is learnt that Ashok Leyland, the Indian-listed group managed by the Hindujas, is working with bankers on a possible merger of Switch Mobility with a Special Purpose Acquisition Company (SPAC) in New York.
The plans, that are at an early stage, might see Switch Mobility valued at between $1.5bn and $2bn, in response to analysts and banking sources. Insiders say that the Hindujas, whose fortune was estimated by final year’s Sunday Times Rich List at £16bn, had been additionally inspecting a personal capital-raising for the electric bus producer.
They cautioned that Switch Mobility’s shareholders might choose to boost personal capital solely and shun the general public markets till a later date Switch Mobility, which was beforehand referred to as Optare, has contracts with bus operators in cities together with London and York.
More than 150 of its autos are already in service within the UK, and Ashok Leyland has signalled plans for an aggressive enlargement of its ambitions within the electric car market. Switch Mobility is chaired by Andy Palmer, the previous chief of Aston Martin Lagonda, who joined the board. Based close to Leeds, the company’s proprietor is one of the world’s three largest bus producers.
The Hindujas have indicated that they’re ready to inject extra fortune into turning into a world chief within the EV sector, which is seeing an explosion in funding and company exercise. Dheeraj Hinduja, Ashok Leyland’s chairman, mentioned final year that the company, which is majority-owned by Hinduja firms, was seeking to carry all of its EV initiatives beneath the Switch Mobility umbrella.
“This strategy reflects the clear growth opportunities in the global LCV [light commercial vehicle] and bus EV market, which is projected to grow at a compounded annual growth rate of more than 25% and to be worth in the region of $50bn by 2030,” he mentioned.
“To capture part of that market, we are considering EV initiatives through Switch that could include financial participation and strategic tie-ups.”
Another UK-based electric car producer, Arrival, merged with a clean cheque company in November, underlining buyers’ urge for food for such offers.
Arrival, which was already backed by Hyundai, went public with a valuation of properly over $5bn, whereas Rivian, one other start-up, is making a fleet of electric vans for Amazon.
