Electric vehicle startup in talks to go public through merger with SPAC

Electric Last Mile Solutions, an electric vehicle startup, is in talks to go public through a merger with Forum Merger III Corp., according to people with knowledge of the matter.

Forum, a special purpose acquisition company led by co-chief executive officers Marshall Kiev and David Boris, is in talks to raise new equity to support a transaction, said the people, who requested anonymity because the talks are private. Terms aren’t finalized and it’s possible that talks could collapse.

Electric Last Mile Solutions, based in Auburn Hills, Michigan operates a plant in Indiana optimized for electric vehicle production that will have the ability to produce more than 100,000 vehicles per year, according to its website. The company, founded by former Ford Motor Co. and Accuride Corp. executive Jason Luo, makes urban-delivery vehicles that fit 170 cubic feet of cargo and can charge in two hours for a range of 150 to 200 miles, its website shows.

Forum in August raised $250 million in an initial public offering. While it has the flexibility to pursue a target in any industry, the SPAC said at the time it intended to focus on companies based in the US worth $500 million to $2 billion.

A Forum representative declined to comment. Representatives for Electric Last Mile Solutions didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.

Any deal would follow a Forum II Merger Corp. transaction earlier this year that took plant-based food company Tattooed Chef Inc. public.