Proterra Inc., an innovator of commercial vehicle electrification technology, will become publicly listed through a transaction with ArcLight Clean Transition Corp., a publicly traded special purpose acquisition company. Upon closing, Proterra’s common stock is expected to trade on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol “PTRA.” The transaction represents an enterprise value of $1.6 billion for Proterra.

Diversified Provider of EV Technologies

Proterra is a high-growth commercial electric vehicle technology leader with more than a decade of production experience. The company has designed an end-to-end, flexible technology platform that delivers performance and a low total cost of ownership to original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and end customers. 

Proterra has three complementary businesses:

• Proterra Powered: Delivering industry-leading battery systems and electrification solutions to commercial vehicle manufacturers; 
• Proterra Transit: Leading North America as the market’s #1 electric transit bus OEM; and 
• Proterra Energy: Offering end-to-end turnkey charging and energy management solutions.

The company’s battery systems have been proven in more than 16 million service miles driven by its fleet of transit vehicles and validated through partnerships with world-class commercial vehicle OEMs, such as Freightliner Custom Chassis Corp. (FCCC), Thomas Built Buses, Van Hool, Bustech, and Optimal-EV. To date, Proterra has produced and delivered more than 300 megawatt-hours of battery systems, more than 550 heavy-duty electric transit buses and installed 54 megawatts of charging systems.

Proterra operates manufacturing facilities in California and South Carolina, as well as a state-of-the-art R&D lab in Silicon Valley. The company recently announced the opening of a new battery production line co-located in its electric transit bus manufacturing facility in Los Angeles County. This battery production line was established within a year and demonstrates Proterra’s ability to bring its scalable and capital-efficient battery manufacturing process directly to commercial vehicle OEMs alongside its existing manufacturing, the company says.

Following the close of the transaction, Jack Allen, Proterra’s chairman and CEO, will continue to lead the company, and Jake Erhard, president, CEO and director of ArcLight Clean Transition Corp., will join Proterra’s board. 

Strong Financial Foundation

Proterra has generated strong results to date, including $193 million of expected 2020 revenue, $750 million in existing orders and backlog and 26% gross margin expansion over the last three years. Upon completion of the transaction, Proterra expects to have up to $825 million in cash to fund growth initiatives, including R&D and the expansion of its next-generation battery program. This new program is designed to improve the cost and performance of Proterra’s battery technology to enable the electrification of all commercial vehicle segments, helping reduce pollution, improve air quality, and safeguard the environment around the world.

Transaction Overview

The transaction has been unanimously approved by the Boards of Directors of both Proterra and ArcLight Clean Transition Corp. It is expected to close in the first half of 2021, subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions, including the approval of ArcLight Clean Transition Corp.’s shareholders. 

The transaction is expected to deliver approximately $648 million in cash at closing, including approximately $278 million of cash held in ArcLight Clean Transition Corp.’s trust account from its initial public offering in September 2020.1The transaction is further supported by a $415 million PIPE at $10.00 per share from key investors, including strategic partners Daimler Trucks and Constellation, existing investors Franklin Templeton, Broadscale, 40 North and G2VP, as well as new investors such as Chamath Palihapitiya, Fidelity Management & Research Company LLC, funds and accounts managed by BlackRock, Neuberger Berman Funds and affiliates of ArcLight. Proterra’s existing shareholders have agreed to convert 100 percent of their ownership stakes into the new company and are expected to own more than 60 percent of the pro forma company at close.