Quanergy nears China-backed SPAC deal to go public: sources

[ASHEVILLE, North Carolina] Quanergy Systems, a supplier of self-driving car technology, is nearing a deal to go public through a merger with Chinese blank-check acquisition firm CITIC Capital Acquisition Corp, people familiar with the matter said on Monday.

Quanergy would be the latest company developing LiDAR technology - which uses laser beams to help generate a three-dimensional map of the road - to turn to a so-called special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) to go public.

Others that have done so include Peter Thiel-backed Luminar Technologies Inc and AEye.

The SPAC deal would value Quanergy at US$1.1 billion and could be announced as early as this week, the sources said.

The sources requested anonymity because the negotiations are confidential. Quanergy and CITIC did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

CCAC raised around US$240 million in an IPO on the New York Stock Exchange in February 2020. It is sponsored by CITIC Capital Holdings Limited, which is backed by CITIC Group, China's largest investment conglomerate.

The company was preparing to file for clearance of the deal with the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), a national security panel that scrutinizes foreign investment, according to one of the sources.

Quanergy expects CFIUS would greenlight the deal because CITIC would keep its stake in the company below 10 per cent, and Quanergy was not engaged in the recording of any personal driver data, the source added.

No Quanergy shareholder would sell shares in the deal. Net cash proceeds held by the combined company were estimated to be about US$278 million, according to the sources. They would be used to fund its operational growth and for general corporate purposes.

Quanergy shareholders would own about 72 per cent of the combined company, while SPAC shareholders would own around 20 per cent, with most of the remainder going to outside investors.

Founded in 2012, Quanergy is based in Sunnyvale, California.

The company has said it is the only major LiDAR provider to use Optical Phased Array technology, which reduces movable parts and therefore is better for the requirements of the automotive industry.

REUTERS