EV maker VinFast set to list on Nasdaq in rare SPAC venue switch

EV maker VinFast Auto Ltd. plans to start trading on the Nasdaq next week after a NYSE American-listed special-purpose acquisition company approved their merger.

Black Spade Acquisition Co. shareholders on Thursday signed off on the combination with the manufacturer. VinFast expects to debut on the Nasdaq on or around Aug. 15 under the symbol VFS. The deal values the company at about $23 billion, a statement last month showed.

The planned Nasdaq listing, confirming an earlier Bloomberg News report, caps VinFast’s years-long efforts to become a publicly traded company. The manufacturer is selling made-in-Vietnam EVs and is currently building a factory in the U.S.

VinFast still has a long way to go though. The company has been held back by operational problems, hobbling its ambition to gain market share in the competitive EV space. In May, VinFast recalled all the electric crossovers shipped to the U.S. over a software malfunction, and its losses have been widening due to the cost of its expansion.

It’s somewhat unusual for VinFast to list on a different exchange than the one its blank-check company is traded on. In a typical SPAC merger, the blank-check company’s backers receive new stock in the combined firm in exchange for their old SPAC shares, which are canceled and delisted.

Although Black Spade is NYSE American-listed, VinFast’s prospectus ahead of the vote said the company intended to apply to list on either the NYSE, NYSE American or the Nasdaq.

An equity valuation of $23 billion, or $27 billion including debt, would mean VinFast will trade at a premium to most peers including Rivian Automotive Inc. and Nikola Corp., according to Bloomberg Intelligence analysts Ken Foong and Siti Nur Fairuz Khalil.

Around 99.99 percent of Thursday’s votes were cast in favor of the merger. VinFast and Black Spade expect to close the combination on Aug. 14.

VinFast last month broke ground at its North Carolina factory. The plant is expected to have an initial capacity to make 150,000 vehicles a year, and the company plans to begin production in 2025.