Lucid Motors was near death and desperate for cash in 2018 when it was handed a lifeline. The savior was Saudi Arabia.
The desert kingdom’s sovereign wealth fund invested $1.3 billion in the electric car start-up. Lucid regained full health.
Now, in 2021, the Saudi fund and Lucid’s founders are poised to cash in by taking advantage of the manic market in so-called blank-check shell companies, also known as SPACs.
In a deal that is near completion, according to a source familiar with the negotiations, the company would draw a hefty but as-yet undetermined amount of cash to fund its operations. If the deal goes off without a hitch, Lucid executives and board members including Chairman Andrew Liveris, a former Dow Chemical chief executive with deep financial ties to Saudi Arabia would get a shot at a big payday.