Amazon disclosure reveals 20% stake in Rivian as IPO approaches
Amazon.com owns a 20% stake in electrical-automobile maker Rivian, the startup with which it has placed an order for 100,000 battery-powered delivery vans, the e-commerce huge disclosed Friday in a securities filing.
As of Sept. thirty, Amazon held equity investments “including preferred inventory of Rivian Automotive, Inc. representing an somewhere around 20% ownership fascination,” which will be valued on the equilibrium sheet at $3.eight billion — up from $two.seven billion at the conclude of 2020, Amazon claimed in the filing.
Amazon shares pared losses of a lot more than five% right after the disclosure of its financial commitment in Rivian to trade down two.eight% to $3,347.27 as of at 12:forty one p.m. in New York. The inventory has obtained just two.eight% in 2021, trailing the S&P 500 Index drastically.
Rivian is noticed as a authentic contender in the EV market place and prospective rival to incumbent Tesla. The startup’s raised a lot more than $10.five billion from investors to day and is trying to get a valuation of $80 billion in an IPO afterwards this yr, Bloomberg reported in August.
Rivian claimed in a filing previous 7 days that it could post a quarterly decline of as much as $1.28 billion as it ramps up production on its debut EV, a battery-electrical pickup called R1T. The Irvine, California-based mostly company experienced disclosed in a separate filing previously this yr that Amazon experienced invested a lot more than $1.3 billion in the automaker and held just about one hundred fifty million shares of preferred inventory.
Amazon’s voting electrical power as a percentage was redacted. A representative for Rivian declined to comment.
Ties That Bind
Peter Krawiec, a senior vice president of around the world company and business enterprise improvement at Amazon, is on Rivian’s board. The Seattle-based mostly company’s order for electrical delivery vans extends by means of the conclude of the decade, with the initial 10,000 units because of prior to the conclude of future yr. The order is a cornerstone of Amazon’s ambitious prepare to suppress its mounting greenhouse gasoline emissions.
Limited production of Rivian’s debut pickup started in August and purchaser deliveries began previous thirty day period. The startup has encountered numerous delays it has blamed on Covid-induced offer-chain worries. Rivian has pushed back again production of its next buyer design, a sports activities-utility automobile called the R1S.
It’s also prioritizing manpower and assets for production of Amazon’s van about its retail buyer-concentrated types, Bloomberg reported previous thirty day period.
All 3 automobiles — the truck, van and SUV — will be crafted at Rivian’s plant in Typical, Illinois. The company is in talks to commit $five billion for a next manufacturing unit in Fort Truly worth, Texas, Bloomberg reported in August. It’s also examining options for a plant in Europe that could also build Amazon vans, Bloomberg reported in January.
Other investors in the EV maker consist of Ford, which has invested a lot more than $820 million in Rivian and holds a stake greater than five%. Ford not too long ago vacated its Rivian board seat.
For Amazon, the wager on Rivian represents a single of its largest investments, in greenback phrases, in an additional company. The e-retailer’s company improvement team has place money into startups doing the job on voice know-how connected to the Alexa electronic assistant. Other investments characteristic companies that are its suppliers or partners. The roster contains investments — or warrants to purchase inventory in — food distributor SpartanNash and air cargo operator Air Transportation Services Group Inc.
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