Exclusive: Fisker the latest electric car maker eyeing deal to go public

By Joshua Franklin, Ben Klayman and Rebecca Spalding

(Reuters) – Electric vehicle maker Fisker Inc is in talks to go public through a sale to a so-called blank-check acquisition company, modeled after a successful deal earlier this year by peer Nikola Corp , people familiar with the matter said on Thursday.

Nikola shares are up more than 60% since it went public last month through such a deal, as investors place bets on which startup will be the next Tesla Inc . Earlier this month, autonomous vehicle technology company Velodyne Lidar agreed to be bought by blank-check company Graf Industrial Corp , fuelling a rally in the latter’s shares.

Spartan Energy Acquisition Corp , which is backed by private equity firm Apollo Global Management Inc , is leading a bidding war among blank-check companies for Fisker, and could clinch a deal as early as next week, the sources said.

The sources requested anonymity as the deal talks are confidential. Fisker and Spartan declined to comment.

(Reporting by Joshua Franklin in Pompano Beach, Florida, Ben Klayman in Detroit and Rebecca Spalding in New York; Editing by David Gregorio)