Lotus Technology plans to merge with L Catterton Asia Acquisition Corp in order to list on the Nasdaq, issuing up to 181,315,064 ordinary shares.

(Image credit: CnEVPost)

Lotus Technology, the luxury electric vehicle (EV) maker owned by sports car brand Lotus, has made a filing with China's securities regulator for its upcoming US listing.

Wuhan, Hubei-based Lotus Technology submitted the filing through its Chinese operating entity, Wuhan Lotus Technology, according to a statement on the China Securities Regulatory Commission's (CSRC) website dated February 8 but only made public today.

Lotus Technology plans to merge with L Catterton Asia Acquisition Corp (LCAA), a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC), to list on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, issuing up to 181,315,064 shares of ordinary shares, according to the statement.

Lotus Technology will need to update its filing before moving forward if it does not complete its listing within 12 months, according to the statement.

Chinese companies listing in the US were not originally required to report to their home regulators, but the CSRC's new rules, introduced at the end of 2021 in the wake of Luckin Coffee's financial fraud and Didi's drama over its US listing, impose the requirement.

Lotus Technology is part of British sports car maker Lotus Group, which is jointly owned by Chinese automaker Geely Holding and Malaysia's Etika Automotive.

Lotus Technology announced on January 31, 2023 that it had entered into a definitive merger agreement with LCAA, a special purpose acquisition company of L Catterton.

Pursuant to the M&A agreement, Lotus Technology and LCAA are expected to be valued at $5.5 billion on a pre-money equity value basis.

Upon completion of the transactions contemplated by the M&A Agreement, the company will retain Lotus Technology as its corporate name and will be listed on the NASDAQ under the ticker symbol "LOT".

In October 2023, Lotus Technology filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission to list on NASDAQ through a merger with LCAA.

Lotus Technology had revenues of $3.69 million in 2021 and $9.56 million in 2022. It had revenue of $130 million in the first half of 2023, up from $2.42 million in the same period in 2022, according to its filing.

It had a net loss of $110 million in 2021 and a net loss of $720 million in 2022. In the first half of 2023, it reported a net loss of $350 million, compared with a net loss of $200 million in the same period a year earlier.

Geely acquired Lotus, which has been around for about 70 years, in 2017 and owns 51 percent of the latter, including Lotus Cars and Lotus Engineering. Etika owns the rest of Lotus.

At the end of August 2021, Lotus set up a new company in China, Wuhan Lotus Technology, with an investment from Nio Capital.

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