Churchill Capital Corp. IV climbs 19% as report tells investors to expect Lucid Motors deal as early as Tuesday

Shares of Churchill Capital IV climbed to 19% on Monday after a Bloomberg report said a merger with electric vehicle maker Lucid Motors could take place as early as Tuesday.

There have been rumors of a merger of Churchill Capital IV, a special purpose acquisition company, and Lucid for over a month.

A deal could use $ 2 billion in cash raised from Churchill Capital IV’s initial public offering and $ 1 billion to $ 1.5 billion from institutional investors to support the deal.

The combined entity could be valued at around $ 15 billion, sources told Bloomberg.

Churchill Capital IV stock has skyrocketed more than 425% since reports emerged of talks between Michael Klein-backed PSPC and Lucid Motors last month.

Investors are excited about Lucid’s prospects: it’s a true competitor to Tesla, and critics have praised its new all-electric vehicle, the Lucid Air. The company is expected to launch its flagship model, the Air Dream Edition, in the second half of 2021.

Lucid is backed by Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, which acquired a 67% stake in the EV maker for around $ 1.3 billion in 2018. Bloomberg reported earlier this year that Lucid was in talks to build an EV manufacturing plant near the city of Jeddah on the Red Sea. .

In December, Lucid completed its first plant in Casa Grande, Arizona, where it plans to eventually produce 400,000 cars per year.

If the merger goes through, it would continue a year of monumental growth for PSPCs. They eclipsed traditional IPOs in 2021, accounting for 63% of the nearly $ 77 billion raised on U.S. exchanges, according to Bloomberg data.

Churchill Capital IV is one of seven SPACs backed by Klein, a former executive of Citigroup. Earlier this month, Klein raised $ 1.6 billion for its sixth and seventh SPAC.

Churchill Capital IV was up 13.06%, to $ 59.81, at 10:38 a.m. ET.