Microvast in Talks to Go Public Via Tuscan SPAC Merger

(Bloomberg) -- Microvast, a maker of electric batteries, is in advanced talks to go public through a merger with the blank-check company Tuscan Holdings Corp., according to people with knowledge of the matter.

Tuscan, a special purpose acquisition company, or SPAC, is seeking to raise about $200 million in new equity to fund the transaction, said the people, who asked not to identified because the talks are private. The transaction would value the combined entity at about $2 billion or higher, the people said.

Negotiations could be delayed or fall apart and the terms could still change, the people said. Representatives for Tuscan and Microvast didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.

Founded in 2006, Stafford, Texas-based Microvast operates a manufacturing center in Huzhou, China. Its batteries have been used to power electric buses in cities including Shanghai and Auckland as well as during the 2018 Winter Olympic Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea, according to its website. The company counts CITIC Securities and CDH Investments among its investors.

Earlier this year, Microvast said it was awarded a contract by the U.S. Advanced Battery Consortium to develop low-cost and fast-charge batteries for electric vehicle applications.

“Programs like this are critical to advancing the technology needed to meet both near- and long-term goals that will enable broader scale vehicle electrification,” Steve Zimmer, executive director of the U.S. Council for Automotive Research, USABC’s parent, said in a statement at the time.

Tuscan, led by Chief Executive Officer Stephen A. Vogel and President and Chief Financial Officer Ruth Epstein, raised $276 million in March 2019 and said it would initially focus on finding a target in the cannabis industry, but added that it wouldn’t be limited to any particular industry or geographic region.

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With assistance from Bloomberg