(Reuters) -Vertical Aerospace, an electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft (eVTOL) maker backed by investors such as American Airlines, will go public through a merger with a blank-check firm in a deal valued at $2.2 billion, the company said on Thursday.
Vertical Aerospace said it has conditional pre-orders for up to $4 billion and 1,000 eVTOL aircraft, from aircraft lessor Avolon and American Airlines, and a pre-order option from Virgin Atlantic.
“If you think about transportation strategically this is the next big frontier,” said Domhnal Slattery, chief executive of Avolon, the world’s third-largest aircraft leasing company.
Vertical Aerospace said it has also raised funds from other companies including Honeywell and Rolls-Royce.
Vertical will be listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker ‘EVTL’, following a deal with Broadstone Acquisition Corp. The deal is expected to close in the second half of 2021.
(Reporting by Ankit Ajmera in Bengaluru, Tracy Rucinski in Chicago and Tim Hepher in Paris; Editing by Krishna Chandra Eluri)
