Kirkland Represents Atlas Crest Investment Corp on $3.8 Billion Merger with Archer
Kirkland & Ellis advised Atlas Crest Investment Corp (NYSE: ACIC), a special purpose acquisition company, on its business combination with Archer, a leading Urban Air Mobility company and developer of all-electric vertical take-off and landing (“eVTOL”) aircraft. It is anticipated that the post-closing company, Archer, will be listed on the NYSE with ticker symbol "ACHR." The transaction values the combined company at an implied $3.8 billion pro forma equity value. The combined company is expected to receive approximately $1.1 billion of gross proceeds from a fully committed common stock PIPE offering of $600 million, along with approximately $500 million cash held in trust, assuming minimal redemptions of Atlas Crest’s existing public stockholders. The PIPE included participation from leading strategic and long-term financial investors including United Airlines, Stellantis and the venture arm of Exor, Baron Capital Group, the Federated Hermes Kaufmann Funds, Mubadala Capital, Putnam Investments and Access Industries. Additionally Ken Moelis and affiliates, along with Marc Lore, are investing $30 million in the PIPE. The business combination is expected to be completed in the second quarter of 2021 and is subject to customary closing conditions.
The Kirkland team was led by transactional partners Edward Lee, Jonathan Davis and Romain Dambre and associates Shachar Nir and Peter Fritz, capital markets partners Christian Nagler, Michael Kim and Michael Taufner, executive compensation partner Scott Price, and tax partners Mike Beinus and Vivek Ratnam.
