(Reuters) -Harley-Davidson Inc’s electric-motorcycle division LiveWire will go public through a merger with a blank-check firm in a deal valuing it at $1.77 billion including debt, the company said on Monday.
The deal with AEA-Bridges Impact Corp will be funded by the blank-check company’s $400 million cash held in trust and another $100 million investment each from Harley and KYMCO.
Harley’s shares rose 11.3% in premarket trading, while those of AEA-Bridges were up 3.4%.
Jochen Zeitz, Harley’s current chief executive, will be the chairman of LiveWire for up to two years following the completion of the deal.
(Reporting by Aishwarya Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh Kuber and Saumyadeb Chakrabarty)