Proterra Inc. will become publicly listed through a transaction with ArcLight Clean Transition Corp., a publicly traded special purpose acquisition company. Upon closing, Proterra’s common stock is expected to trade on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol PTRA. The transaction represents an enterprise value of $1.6 billion for Proterra.
Proterra is a high-growth commercial electric vehicle technology provider with over a decade of production experience. The company has designed an end-to-end, flexible technology platform that delivers world-class performance and a low total cost of ownership to original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and end customers. Proterra has three complementary businesses:
Proterra Powered: Delivering industry-leading battery systems and electrification solutions to commercial vehicle manufacturers.
Proterra Transit: Leading North America as the market’s #1 electric transit bus OEM.
Proterra Energy: Offering end-to-end turnkey charging and energy management solutions.
The company’s battery systems have been proven in more than 16 million service miles driven by its fleet of transit vehicles and validated through partnerships with world-class commercial vehicle OEMs, such as Freightliner Custom Chassis Corporation, Thomas Built Buses, Van Hool, Bustech, and Optimal-EV. To date, Proterra has produced and delivered more than 300 megawatt-hours of battery systems, more than 550 heavy-duty electric transit buses and installed 54 megawatts of charging systems.
Proterra operates manufacturing facilities in California and South Carolina, as well as a state-of-the-art R&D lab in Silicon Valley. The company recently announced the opening of a new battery production line co-located in its electric transit bus manufacturing facility in Los Angeles County. The battery production line was established within a year and demonstrates Proterra’s ability to bring its scalable and capital-efficient battery manufacturing process directly to commercial vehicle OEMs alongside their existing manufacturing.
Following the close of the transaction, Jack Allen, Proterra’s Chairman and CEO, will continue to lead the company, and Jake Erhard, President, CEO, and Director of ArcLight Clean Transition Corp., will join Proterra’s board.
“This transaction enables Proterra to take the next step towards our mission of advancing EV technology to deliver the world's best performing commercial vehicles,” said Jack Allen, chairman and CEO of Proterra. “In addition, it introduces a partner in ArcLight that has a shared focus on sustainability and renewable energy. We look forward to working closely with the ArcLight team as we create value for our shareholders and customers, scale our business to new levels and benefit the world around us.”
The transaction has been unanimously approved by the Boards of Directors of both Proterra and ArcLight Clean Transition Corp. It is expected to close in the first half of 2021, subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions, including the approval of ArcLight Clean Transition Corp.’s shareholders.
The transaction is expected to deliver approximately $648 million in cash at closing, including approximately $278 million of cash held in ArcLight Clean Transition Corp.’s trust account from its initial public offering in September 2020. The transaction is further supported by a $415 million PIPE at $10.00 per share from key investors, including strategic partners Daimler Trucks and Constellation, existing investors Franklin Templeton, Broadscale, 40 North and G2VP, as well as new investors such as Chamath Palihapitiya, Fidelity Management & Research Company LLC, funds and accounts managed by BlackRock, Neuberger Berman Funds and affiliates of ArcLight. Proterra’s existing shareholders have agreed to convert 100% of their ownership stakes into the new company, and are expected to own more than 60% percent of the pro forma company at close.
