Wuhan, China-based Lotus Technology, a luxury EV manufacturer that makes vehicles under the British-founded Lotus brand, is preparing to go public via a merger with special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) called L Catterton Asia Acquisition Corporation.

Lotus has confirmed that it will go public in the United States via a SPAC deal with L Catterton Asia Acquisition Corp. The deal will value the combined group at $5.4 billion.

The EV brand underwent a lot of changes in the past few years. In 2017, Chinese automotive giant Geely acquired the struggling Norfolk brand, and immediately implemented a change in vision. In place of concentrating on lightweight petrol sports cars, the Chinese automotive giant wanted its acquired brand to become a leader in the luxury EV space.

Hence Lotus developed a fully-electric hypercar called Evija as a halo model. Later, the conventionally powered Emira sports car was produced and released as part of the brand’s efforts to retain its local customers. Meanwhile, the brand kept showing off its next-generation design language.

However, the upcoming Eletre – a luxury electric SUV with 373 miles of range will unquestionably be main earner of the brand. Even with a starting price of $85,000, the Eletre is expected to attract a significant number of potential buyers. The Eletre will first be released in China, sometime before the end of the first quarter of this year. Then, it will be released in the UK and the EU. Later, the company has plans to expand deliveries of the upcoming EV to the US and other markets of the world.

Back to the SPAC deal, Lotus Technology will be listed on the New York-based NASDAQ stock market under the ticker “LOT.” The brand’s existing shareholders, with Geely being the largest, retain 89.7 per cent of equity.

The company has plans to use the proceeds from the merger of the businesses for product innovation as well as to enlarge its global distribution network. Lotus Tech’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Feng Qingfeng, said in a statement that the partnership should provide a significant support to the brand’s global expansion.

Speaking on the topic, Qingfeng said, “We expect the partnership to provide significant support as Lotus Tech expands globally, with promising brand collaboration and strategic partnership potential worldwide.”

Deutsche Bank and Credit Suisse were reportedly among the advisors on the SPAC deal that is going to merge the businesses of Lotus Technology L Catterton Asia Acquisition Corporation.