F - Why Shares of Graf Industrial Are Soaring Today
Shares of Graf Industrial (NYSE: GRAF) gained 20% on Thursday after the special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) announced plans to merge with a maker of sensors for self-driving vehicles. The deal would move its merger partner, Velodyne Lidar, onto public markets, joining a host of other companies to use SPACs to go public in recent months.
Velodyne Lidar said Thursday it would combine with Graf Industrial to create a company with a pro forma market capitalization of $1.8 billion. Current Velodyne shareholders, including Ford Motor (NYSE: F), Nikon (OTC: NINOY), and Hyundai Mobis, would own about 80% of the combined company.
Post-deal, Graf Industrial would change its name to Velodyne Lidar and change its ticker symbol to "VLDR."