Archer Aviation this morning announced plans for an anticipated $1.1 billion share flotation through a merger with a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) called Atlas Crest Investment Corp. At the same time, it reported that United Airlines has signed an agreement valued at an initial $1 billion to purchase up to 200 of its four-passenger eVTOL aircraft. This would imply a price for each aircraft of $5 million.
The $1.1 billion target for the amount of capital raised through the SPAC deal includes $600 million in a common stock PIPE (public investment in private equity) commitment backed by United Airlines, Stellantis, Exor, Baron Capital Group, the Federated Hermes Kaufmann Funds, Mubadala Capital, Putnam Investments, and Access Industries. Atlas Crest chairman Ken Moelis and Archer’s initial financial backer Marc Lore are investing a combined figure of $30 million in the new company.
