Uber-Backed Joby Aviation to Combine With SPAC Reinvent Technology

By Colin Kellaher

Joby Aviation, an electric-aircraft startup backed by Uber Technologies Inc., on Wednesday unveiled plans to go public through a combination with Reinvent Technology Partners, a blank-check company backed by technology veterans Reid Hoffman and Mark Pincus.

The companies said the deal gives Joby a combined post-money equity value of $6.6 billion and will provide roughly $1.6 billion in gross proceeds, including $690 million from Reinvent and an $835 million private placement at $10 a share with investors including Baupost Group, funds and accounts managed by BlackRock, Fidelity Management & Research LLC and Baillie Gifford.

Joby, which plans to operate an air-taxi service starting in 2024 with an electric-powered vehicle similar to a helicopter, last year received investments of $125 million from Uber and acquired Uber Elevate, the ride-share giant's division focused on the aerial market.

Mr. Hoffman, the co-founder of LinkedIn and Mr. Pincus, the founder and chairman of videogame company Zynga Inc., last year teamed with hedge-fund manager Michael Thompson to launch Reinvent amid a record boom in special-purpose acquisition companies.

Mr. Hoffman will join the board of the combined company, to be named Joby Aviation, upon completion of the transaction, slated for the second quarter.

Shares of Reinvent, which closed Tuesday at $12.94, rose more than 16% in premarket trading Wednesday.

Write to Colin Kellaher at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 24, 2021 09:15 ET (14:15 GMT)

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