VinFast To Go Public Under New Merger, Rescinds IPO

Ben Rappaport, Chatham News + Record

VinFast will make its public market debut faster after withdrawing its initial public offering.

The company will now enter a Special Purpose Acquisition Company (SPAC) agreement, which is when a company is “without commercial operations and is formed strictly to raise capital through an initial public offering (IPO) for the purpose of acquiring or merging with an existing company,” according to Investopedia.

The SPAC agreement includes a merger with Black Spade Acquisition Co. VinFast’s U.S. stock shares will be traded publicly through Black Spade from this agreement.

The company anticipates raising more than $20 billion through the SPAC. That funding is expected to pay for the construction of its new Moncure facility.

The now-withdrawn IPO, which was originally announced in December 2022, included a proposed nine-bank syndication behind the deal, according to company filings.

The SPAC agreement is not yet effective, according to the letter from VinFast to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

“The Company is seeking withdrawal of the Registration Statement because it has entered into a business combination agreement with Black Spade Acquisition Co and intends to file a new registration statement on Form F-4 in connection with the proposed business combination,” the VinFast letter said. “The Registration Statement has not been declared effective by the Commission and no securities have been issued or sold under the Registration Statement.”

VinFast’s move to list via a SPAC follows several other EV companies such as Microvast, Faraday Future, Nikola and Lucid, according to a CNBC report about the company’s plans.

SPACs are seen as a quick route to the stock market, particularly for auto technology firms, and have proven popular with investors seeking Tesla-like stock valuations — although the valuation of merged firms often falls in the months after listing, the report stated.

Featured photo via VinFast/Chatham News + Record.

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VinFast To Go Public Under New Merger, Rescinds IPO

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