Breaking: Amazon-Backed Rivian Files For $80B IPO

Electric vehicle maker Rivian has confirmed it has filed confidentially with the Securities & Exchange Commission for an initial public offering that could value the company at $80 billion, according to reports.

"The size and price range for the proposed offering have yet to be determined," the company said in a statement issued to the media. "The initial public offering is expected to take place after the SEC completes its review process, subject to market and other conditions."

Bloomberg was first to report the news Friday morning, citing "people familiar with the matter." In the report, the news outlet said the company hoped to do the IPO around Thanksgiving at a valuation of $80 billion.

Rivian has raised more than $10.5 billion from Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN), Ford Motor Co. F, T. Rowe Price Associates, and Fidelity, among others.

In the fall of 2019, Amazon ordered 100,000 electric delivery vans from the Southern California-based startup, following an initial $700 million investment from the e-tailer earlier that year.

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Prior to that date, Rivian had positioned itself as an adventure vehicle maker, focused on an electric pickup truck, the Rivian R1T, and an electric SUV, the Rivian R1S. In October 2020, Rivian released a prototype of the Amazon vehicle, with delivery expected to begin at the end of the year. Some of the initial vehicles are now on the roads.

The company is in talks with officials in Fort Worth, Texas, and Mesa, Arizona, about building a $5 billion factory that would produce 200,000 vehicles a year.

Jim Chen, Rivian's vice president of public policy, said in an email to FreightWaves that the company is talking with several locations for its second plant.

"Rivian is in discussions with multiple locations as part of a competitive process for siting a second manufacturing facility. This may include Rivian being involved in certain public-facing processes at potential locations. Involvement in these processes does not indicate a final decision," Jim Chen, vice president of public policy for Rivian, said in an email to FreightWaves earlier this month.

Amazon began testing Rivian vans in March in the San Francisco area. The vans, which feature a 150-mile range on a single charge, three levels of shelving with a bulkhead door that can be opened and closed for additional driver protection while on the road, and a suite of highway and traffic assist technologies, are being driven by Amazon employees.

Amazon expects to have 10,000 Rivian vans on the road by 2022 and the full 100,000 orders by 2030.

Click for more Modern Shipper articles by Brian Straight.

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