Self-driving truck firm Einride to go public via SPAC deal at $1.8 billion valuation

An Einride Pod, an electric self-driving truck developed by Einride, which has no cabin for a driver, is shown in this undated handout photo obtained by Reuters on November 3, 2021. Einride/Handout via REUTERS

(Reuters) -Swedish autonomous trucking company Einride said on Wednesday it has agreed to go public in the U.S. through a merger with blank-check firm Legato Merger Corp III in a deal valuing the company at $1.8 billion.

The listing comes after a wave of electric vehicle startups went public during the pandemic-era SPAC boom with the aim of capitalizing on the huge demand for clean-energy vehicles and government incentives for the purchase of battery-powered cars.