Rivian Wants To Raise $8.4 Billion Going Public, Making It The Third-Largest U.S. IPO In The Last Decade

Electric vehicle start-up Rivian wants to raise up to $8.4 billion with its upcoming initial public offering of 135 million shares priced between $57 and $62, with the option for underwriters to purchase up to 20.25 million additional shares, per CNBC.  If it does so, Rivian Automotive Inc will be more than $54 Billion.

According to Reuters, this would mean the Amazon- and Ford-backed start-up would be almost as valuable as legacy carmaker Honda. It would also make it the third-largest initial public offering (IPO) by funds raised in the past decade in the United States, with only Alibaba and Meta (formerly Facebook) generating more since 2011.

Rivian’s IPO is one of the most hotly anticipated of the year, as electric vehicle companies have become investor darlings. In September, the Rivian R1T finally went into production, making it the first American-made EV Pickup of the modern era, beating out the likes of Tesla, Ford, and GM.

Read: Rivian’s IPO Filing Confirms 48,000 Preorders Amid Huges Losses

It’s not been smooth sailing throughout, though. When Rivian filed its S-1 document with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the company reported a net loss of $426 million in 2019 and $1.01 billion in 2020. Those losses only look set to grow, as, for the first half of 2021, the bleeding was already at $994 million. However, with heavy investment in R&D, as well as its new factory in Normal, Illinois, Rivian expects capital expenditures to account for $8 billion by the end of 2023.

And, those looking to take part in Rivian’s IPO will no doubt be encouraged by some of the company’s big-name investors. In addition to Amazon, these include the T. Rowe Price Group, while Ford also holds a five percent share in the company.

Amazon Has Already Ordered 100,000 Rivian Vans

Amazon, which has a 20 percent stake in Rivian, has put in an order for 100,000 electric delivery vans, which we now know will be produced in three different guises. These vans will use the same skateboard architecture as the R1T truck and R1S SUV, with different motor configurations.