Rivian, an electric vehicle manufacturer, has filed confidential paperwork with regulators for an initial public offering (IPO), paving the way for a blockbuster year-end market debut as it seeks to capitalize on a growing IPO market in the US.
According to reports, Rivian will seek a valuation of around $70-80 billion in its IPO, with Amazon, Goldman Sachs, Soros Fund Management, and BlackRock among its major investors.
Rivian has raised more than $10 billion since the beginning of 2019, according to PitchBook, a SaaS company that provides private market data. Amazon spearheaded a $2.5 billion investment with D1 Capital Partners, T Rowe Price, and Ford Motor Company in July through its Climate Pledge Fund. It came after a $2.65 billion round in January, which valued the company at $27.6 billion.
In recent months, the electric vehicle company has reportedly begun scaling up production nationwide. Last month, media reports claimed that the company was considering building a second electric vehicle assembly plant. The company’s existing US plant is located in Normal, Illinois.
Rivian would have a bigger market capitalization than General Motors (GM), the largest US automaker, at that pricing. However, it would still be dominated by Tesla, which has a market capitalization of nearly $700 billion and is currently planning to build a pickup truck that would compete with Rivian’s version. Rivian’s stock market debut is expected to be the most high-profile of the year’s IPOs, which have raised a total of more than $225 billion this year, according to reports.
Amazon had agreed to buy 100,000 Rivian electric vans in September 2019. The company began testing electric delivery vehicles in San Francisco and Los Angeles earlier this year.
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