Rivian Automotive, which manufactures premium electric SUVs, vans, and pickup trucks, filed on Friday with the SEC to raise up to $100 million in an initial public offering. However the deal size is a placeholder for an IPO that we estimate could raise upwards of $6 billion.
In September, Rivian began making deliveries of its first generation consumer vehicle, the R1T, a two-row five-passenger pickup truck priced at around $70,000. The company also plans to launch the R1S, a three-row seven-passenger SUV, in December 2021. At quarter-end, it had approximately 48,000 preorders for the consumer vehicles with $1,000 refundable deposits. In the commercial market, Rivian collaborated with key investor Amazon.com to develop an electric delivery van with an initial order volume of 100,000 vehicles.
The pre-revenue company is expected to compete most closely with US premium electric vehicle developers Tesla and Lucid Motors (LCID). Lucid went public via SPAC merger and begins customer deliveries of its luxury sedan in the fall.
The Irvine, CA-based company was founded in 2009 and plans to list on the Nasdaq under the symbolRIVN. Rivian Automotive filed confidentially on August 25, 2021. Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, J.P. Morgan, Barclays, Deutsche Bank, Allen & Company, BofA Securities, Mizuho Securities, and Wells Fargo Securities are the joint bookrunners on the deal. No pricing terms were disclosed.