Taiwan-based electric scooter and battery swapping company Gogoro Inc. announced that Nasdaq-listed SPAC firm Poema Global Holdings Corp.'s strategic partner, Hero MotoCorp, Engine No. 1 and another investor will be making a PIPE investment, raising the oversubscribed PIPE from US$257 million to US$285 million.
"We are proud to be adding PIPE investors Hero MotoCorp, a global leader in two-wheel vehicles and Engine No. 1, a strategic investment group focused on creating long-term value by harnessing the power of capitalism to drive greater ESG thinking," said Horace Luke, founder, chairman, and chief executive officer of Gogoro. "Gogoro is transforming urban mobility in the world’s most densely populated cities by changing how people use and share portable energy and we are well positioned to transform the urban mobility landscape and capitalize on the electric transition of more than a half billion two-wheel vehicles in Asia."
"Gogoro is excited to add Hero MotoCorp and Engine No. 1 to its PIPE. This additional funding, in addition to our recent F-4 filing, keeps us on track for closing in Q1. Additionally, beating our 2021 revenue target means we are executing to our plans and expectations,” said Bruce Aitken, chief financial officer, Gogoro Inc.
Private investment in public equity (PIPE) is the buying of shares of publicly traded stock at a price below the current market value per share. The existing PIPE is reportedly funded by a variety of investors including strategic partners Hon Hai (Foxconn) Technology Group and GoTo Group, the largest technology group in Indonesia, Gogoro vehicle partners, and new and existing financial investors including Generation Investment Management, Temasek as well as Gogoro's founding investor, Dr. Samuel Yin of Ruentex Group.
Asia-based green technology industry analyst Danny Levinson says that Gogoro's growth, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, shows the resilience of the company. "The price to fill-up an automobile in many countries at the start of the pandemic cratered, but the price for petrol or gasoline has since nearly doubled in some places, such as the U.S.," says Levinson. "The combination of higher gas prices and more worries about spread of illness on public transport may help Gogoro meet consumer demand of greater mobility at a more economical price point with its scooters and battery swapping tech."
Gogoro claims its battery swapping ecosystem is an established leading solution for electric refueling of lightweight urban vehicles. In less than five years, the company has accumulated over US$1 billion in revenue and 450,000+ battery swap subscribers.