(Reuters) -Shares of LiveWire, the electric motorcycle subsidiary of Harley-Davidson Inc, jumped as much as 24% in their U.S. market debut on Tuesday following the unit’s $1.77 billion merger with a blank-check firm.
The backdoor listing makes LiveWire as the first and only EV motorcycle company in the United States to debut on the New York Stock Exchange. Last year, the EV unit agreed to merge with special purpose acquisition company AEA-Bridges Impact Corp. The surge in shares comes amid dampening sentiment over SPAC mergers. Shares of companies that have completed SPAC mergers have fallen sharply this year amid surging interest rates, extreme market volatility and high shareholder redemptions. LiveWire, launched in 2021, has one EV bike model priced beginning $16,999 and another one at $22,799, as majority owner Harley hopes to claw back lost market share and attract young and environmentally conscious urban riders.
(Reporting by Aishwarya Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel)
