Next Ego wants to go public on the US stock exchange

The electric car startup plans to use a shell company to list on the New York Stock Exchange.

Electric car start-up Next Ego plans to raise a total of $285 million through a Spac IPO. This was reported by Wirtschaftswoche. To make the leap to the New York Stock Exchange, Next Ego, a young electric vehicle manufacturer based in Aachen, Germany, is slipping into a so-called shell company, also known as Spac. Athena announced Thursday that the merger with the company's shell company (SPAC) Athena Consumer Acquisition Corp. listed there is expected to raise $285 million for Next Ego.

Unlike most of these backdoor IPOs, no other investors are expected. Instead, Athena will lend the startup an additional $50 million. Next Ego's owners will continue to be shareholders, the statement said.

The company, which emerged from RWTH Aachen University, is valued at $913 million in the IPO. Since its founding in 2015, Ego has had a rocky past. In 2020, predecessor company Ego Mobile went bankrupt because it was unable to raise new funding. The company's brand ambassador is Brazilian soccer star Neymar.

The company has produced more than 1,000 small electric cars at its "MicroFactory" in Aachen, Germany, since 2019. Athena claims the plant's potential would be closer to 30,000 vehicles per year. Construction of a second such factory is expected to begin later this year in Lowetsch, Bulgaria. The 140 million euro investment includes a 34 million euro contribution from the government.