XL Fleet and Pivotal Investment Corporation II, a publicly traded special purpose acquisition company (SPAC), have recently entered into a definitive merger agreement. Upon closing, the combined company will be named XL Fleet and is expected to remain listed on the New York Stock Exchange under a new ticker symbol, “XL”, with an anticipated implied enterprise value of approximately $1 billion and no material debt expected to be outstanding.

SPACs, which raise money through an IPO for the purpose of acquiring an existing company, have existed for decades, but have surged recently. In 2020, more than 50 SPACs have been formed in the US as of the beginning of August, raising some $21.5 billion.

XL developed a flexible proprietary electrification powertrain platform that transforms traditional fossil fuel-powered fleet vehicles into hybrid and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles as they are manufactured. XL systems are currently available on a wide variety of Class 2-6 vehicles manufactured by Ford, Chevrolet, GMC, and Isuzu, and the company is on track to provide its systems in Class 7-8 vehicles in 2022.

XL Fleet is a recognized leader in commercial and municipal fleet electrification, with more than 3,200 commercial and municipal vehicles in more than 200 fleets deployed throughout the US and Canada which have logged more than 130 million customer miles driven on the company’s hybrid and plug-in hybrid electric drive systems.

XL has strong demand momentum with a $220-million 12-month sales pipeline and forecasted revenue of more than $21 million in 2020 and $75 million in 2021.

Upon closing, XL is expected to have an additional $350 million of funding, which it plans to invest in the development of new electrification technologies while also expanding into emerging markets outside of North America.

With the capital raised from this transaction, XL intends to fuel significant investments in the development of new products designed to accelerate the fleet industry’s transition from fossil fuels to electrified propulsion.

XL expects to expand its current suite of hybrid and plug-in hybrid solutions for Class 2-6 vehicles to include zero CO₂ (e.g., all-electric, hydrogen fuel cell electric) drive systems for a wide range of vehicles, including those in the heavy-duty Class 7-8 vehicle space.

In addition to its electrified powertrain platform, XL provides real-time data monitoring and analytics through its XL Link solution, which it will use in part to continue developing its Electrification-as-a Service suite, featuring a range of EV services including power management, charging infrastructure, and onsite power and storage offerings. XL believes this forward-thinking approach will position it as a full-service provider of electrification solutions as the industry’s demand and capacity for more sustainable vehicles continues to grow.

Fleet electrification as a whole is still in the early stages of development, and there is tremendous untapped opportunity in the years and decades ahead. With the ability to quickly expand our teams, scale our production capacity and fund significant new product investments, we believe we will be well positioned to build on our leadership as a result of our transition to a publicly traded company. More importantly for our customers, that will mean greater access to a wider array of electrified vehicles, services and solutions to help them meet their sustainability goals.

—Dimitri Kazarinoff, Chief Executive Officer of XL Fleet