Gogoro Announces Plan To Go Public On Nasdaq In Q1 Of 2022

It’s been a wild time for electric scooter and technology company Gogoro. First, it quickly established its Powered by Gogoro Network of swappable battery stations throughout its native Taiwan. Along the way, it also established partnerships with the likes of Yamaha, Aeon Motor, and PGO. In 2021, it inked deals first with India’s Hero MotoCorp and later with China’s Yadea and DCJ aimed at international growth.  

India and China are the two biggest markets in the world for two-wheeled vehicles, full stop. So, it’s no wonder that Gogoro would want to establish itself as a strong player there. Those two deals alone were pretty massive, but it’s a third announcement by Gogoro in 2021 that may make this the biggest year yet for the company. On September 16, the company announced that it’s going public on Nasdaq, with a target date sometime in the first quarter of 2022.  

It’s doing this by merging with a special purpose acquisition company (or SPAC) called Poema Global. The resulting company will be called Gogoro Inc., and the startup valuation is reportedly $2.35 billion. If no investors cash out, Gogoro expects to gain about $550 million out of the deal. Investors via its private investment in public equity program (PIPE, and we promise we didn’t make these acronyms up) include Hon Hai (Foxconn) Technology Group, as well as GoTo and others. This money will, of course, help Gogoro to further develop its technologies, as well as expand internationally. 

GoTo may not be a familiar name at first, but it’s an Indonesian tech company formed by the merger of massive ride-hailing service Gojek and Tokopedia, an e-commerce giant. If you’ve guessed that means Gogoro has its eye on the impressively large two-wheeler markets in Southeast Asia, you’d be 100 percent correct. 

In a presentation in Taipei, TechCrunch reported that Gogoro CEO Horace Luke said, “[the] important thing is to recognize that Southeast Asia is the third-largest market outside of China and India for two-wheelers. Gogoro has always had the vision to go after these big markets. GoTo, being a great success in Indonesia, their investment in Gogoro will start conversations, but there isn’t anything to announce at this point other than that they’re joining the PIPE.” 

If you’re curious about SPACs, we’ll link a helpful guide to what they are (and aren’t) in our Sources. Essentially, from a company’s perspective, they’re an easier way for that company to go public than a traditional IPO. As with anything, though, there are both positive and negative aspects to those differences. Only time will tell how this particular instance pans out.  

Gogoro Announces Plan To Go Public On Nasdaq In Q1 Of 2022
Source: Philippines Election