Electronaut
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This happened at IPO, but I didn't see this news until today -- Amazon bought $200 million worth of shares at the IPO at $78/share. So they've already made $200M off their extra investment (as of current $153 / share pricing).
https://www.thetechee.com/2021/11/evs-amazon-doubles-down-on-rivian.html
Amazon Doubles Down On Rivian Investment
November 13, 2021
On Thursday, electric car startup Rivian held a successful IPO, not just any IPO but the largest one in seven years. With great investor demand, it raised $12bn by selling 153 million shares at $78 each. Moreover, the company's stock jumped from $78 at debut to $130 currently, valuing it at $111bn, despite having no revenue yet.
The biggest beneficiary from Rivian's listing was Amazon, the e-commerce giant which owned a 20% pre-IPO stake in the electric carmaker. Amazon is Rivian's biggest customer and, before the IPO, invested a total of $1.3bn across several private funding rounds. Its Rivian stake is now worth north of $20bn.
Rivian closed trading on Friday with a $111bn market cap, up nearly 70% in two days.
Correction: A previous version of this article said Amazon's Rivian stake was bumped to 22% after its latest share purchase, which was incorrect. It was corrected that Amazon's Rivian stake (after the purchase) was slightly above 20% and worth about $21bn as of trading close on Friday.
https://www.thetechee.com/2021/11/evs-amazon-doubles-down-on-rivian.html
Amazon Doubles Down On Rivian Investment
November 13, 2021
On Thursday, electric car startup Rivian held a successful IPO, not just any IPO but the largest one in seven years. With great investor demand, it raised $12bn by selling 153 million shares at $78 each. Moreover, the company's stock jumped from $78 at debut to $130 currently, valuing it at $111bn, despite having no revenue yet.
The biggest beneficiary from Rivian's listing was Amazon, the e-commerce giant which owned a 20% pre-IPO stake in the electric carmaker. Amazon is Rivian's biggest customer and, before the IPO, invested a total of $1.3bn across several private funding rounds. Its Rivian stake is now worth north of $20bn.
- It turns out Amazon didn't just stop at buying Rivian shares privately. The tech giant also bought more shares in Rivian's public offering. According to a recent Form 4 filing, Amazon bought $200mn worth of shares at the IPO price of $78. The purchase upped the value of its Rivian stake to slightly above 20%, worth about $21bn at the current stock price.
- Amazon is all-in on Rivian to help transition its cargo fleet towards electrification. In 2019, it ordered 100,000 electric delivery vans, making it Rivian's biggest customer. Here's a fun fact; Amazon's profit (on paper) from its Rivian stake is enough to cover the cost of its massive order ($7bn, give or take) a few times over.
- With Amazon as an anchor customer, Rivian convinced enough investors to shower it with unprecedented cash for a company at its stage. For reference, when EV kingpin Tesla went public in 2010, it raised roughly $200mn at a $1.7bn valuation, compared to Rivian's $12bn at a $67bn valuation.
- Rivian has two other vehicles in its pipeline; an SUV (R1S) and a pickup truck (R1T). The company is still in manufacturing infancy, with just 12 vehicles produced in the whole of Q3. Meanwhile, Rivian says its Illinois-based factory can produce 150,000 cars annually.
- With massive funding and a whole lot of trust from investors, Rivian would be a pitiful experience if it fails to succeed. Among its American EV startup counterparts, we place it as the one with the highest chance to succeed.
Rivian closed trading on Friday with a $111bn market cap, up nearly 70% in two days.
Correction: A previous version of this article said Amazon's Rivian stake was bumped to 22% after its latest share purchase, which was incorrect. It was corrected that Amazon's Rivian stake (after the purchase) was slightly above 20% and worth about $21bn as of trading close on Friday.
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