German Aviation start-up Lilium will go public through a merger with a special purpose company, Qell Acquisition Corp, according to CNBC. The post-merged entity will receive about $830 million, including $450 million from a fully committed common stock and $380 million cash held in trust.
The funding from the deal will provide Lilium with enough capital to reach its targeted commercial launch in the U.S. and Europe beginning in 2024.
Lilium has previously raised $400 million.
Ex-General Motors executive Barry Engle, founder of Qell Acquisition Corp., has cited Lilium’s proprietary technology and its team as the main reasons for seeking the deal.
Lilium expects to start generating revenue in 2024 and achieve an adjusted pre-tax profit in 2025.
The deal is expected to close in the second quarter, and the combined company will trade on Nasdaq under ticker LILM.
Once completed, the combined company will have a pro-forma enterprise value of $2.4 billion and a pro-forma equity value of $3.3 billion.
