EV maker Arrival’s second SPAC is now a dead SPAC

Troubled commercial EV maker Arrival has just ended a deal to merge — for the second time in less than three years — with a special purpose acquisition company.

Arrival initially went public in March 2021 via a merger with special purpose acquisition company CIIG Merger Corp. in a deal valued at $5.4 billion. Since those high-flying SPAC days of 2021, Arrival has repeatedly delayed its production launch, pivoted and changed market focus, burned through millions of dollars, and restructured the company three times. Arrival’s share price has also taken a hit, plummeting 87% from its opening figure of $22 in March 2021.

In a bid to avoid bankruptcy, Arrival announced in April 2023 that it had reached an agreement to merge with a second SPAC, or blank-check company, called Kensington Capital Acquisition Corp. The SPAC with Kensington had a pro-forma enterprise value of $524 million.

Arrival said in a regulatory filing it “intends to redirect its focus towards advancing other opportunities.” Arrival has hired TD Cowen and Teneo Financial Advisory to “pursue alternative avenues that will provide the company with additional liquidity.”

These second SPACs — a re-SPAC? — might not be a trend yet. But a handful of companies, including U.K.-based Wejo, have used it to raise cash in an otherwise capitally tight marketplace.