Reinvent Technology Partners shares surged up to 9% Wednesday, before recovering gains after Joby Aviation was listed on the New York Stock Exchange.
The deal includes $910million of fully committed financing, which includes an $835 Rangers Culture million PIPE. It is anchored by Uber Technologies and The Baupost Group, BlackRock. Fidelity Management & Research and Baillie Gifford.
The new company will be known as Joby Aviation, an air taxi business. It is expected to have a post-money value of $6.6 billion.
To “ensure unparalleled long-term alignment”, insiders will have to agree to a lock-up agreement of up to five years and price-based HYBRID RACING vesting for certain shares.
The transaction is expected to generate enough funds to finance the company until the launch of the passenger service in 2024.
Reid Hoffman, the founder of Reinvent, will join Joby’s board. Hoffman has now three SPACs devoted to the tech sector. Reinvent Technology Partners is however the first to secure a deal.
SPAC successfully completed a $600million IPO in September last year, and has been searching for a partner since.
Hoffman stated that he is excited about the prospects for the air taxi service in Wednesday’s statement.
Hoffman stated that Joby is home to a remarkable founder-led team, which has quietly produced the most advanced technology in this sector.
Hoffman said that Joby has “valuable strategic partnerships such as Uber and Toyota, and a compelling business plan and an unmatched track record of executing against its targets,” Hoffman continued.
Joby Aviation spent over a decade developing a fleet piloted, all electric, vertical takeoff-and landing passenger aircraft.
Over 1,000 test flights have been conducted by the company to date. The company hopes to “leapfrog sustainable over gridlock below” using its four-passenger, emissions free aircraft that can travel up 150 miles at speeds of up to 200 miles an hour.
Paul Sciarra, Executive Chair of Joby Aviation, stated that “aerial ridesharing will drive an entire generational shift in the way we travel this century, just like the railroad and jet aircraft did in past centuries.”
