Tortoise Acquisition Mergers with Hyliion Inc. | O'Keeffe & O'Malley

Tortoise Acquisition Mergers with Hyliion Inc.

Jun 19, 2020

Hyliion Inc., a leader in electrified powertrain solutions for Class 8 commercial vehicles, announced it intends to merge with Tortoise Acquisition Corp., a publicly traded special purpose acquisition company with a strategic focus on the energy sector and decarbonizing commercial transportation in North America.

Upon the closing of the transaction, the combined entity will be named Hyliion Holdings Corp. and remain on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) under the new ticker symbol “HYLN.”

“Hyliion’s solutions were specifically developed to utilize existing infrastructure in an effort to support rapid technology deployment. Our mission is to enable our fleet customers to quickly realize lower carbon emissions and significantly lower cost of ownership benefits provided by our technology.”

The merger will drive Hyliion’s corporate expansion and further the development and commercialization of its powertrain solutions, with the support of the company’s robust network of industry partners.

“We are building solutions that are available today and address the immediate needs of today’s trucking fleets,” said Thomas Healy, CEO and founder of Hyliion. “Hyliion’s solutions were specifically developed to utilize existing infrastructure in an effort to support rapid technology deployment. Our mission is to enable our fleet customers to quickly realize lower carbon emissions and significantly lower cost of ownership benefits provided by our technology.”

Founded in 2015, Hyliion has established itself as an industry leader in Class 8 truck electrification with its hybrid and fully electric powertrain solutions capable of achieving a net carbon negative footprint.

“Over the past 15 months since our IPO, we have evaluated more than 200 companies looking for the ideal opportunity where our expertise and capital could be the catalyst needed to unlock the full potential of a high-growth business,” said Vince Cubbage, CEO and chairman of Tortoise Acquisition Corp. “We found that exceptional company with Hyliion—with a market-disruptive business plan, transformational product, and remarkable founder and CEO. We are honored that they made us a part of their team and are looking forward to helping them deploy their sustainable, electrified trucking solutions to significantly reduce emissions and contribute to a cleaner energy future.”

Healy will continue as CEO of the combined company, overseeing the implementation of Hyliion’s corporate strategy. He is joined by Hyliion’s executive team: Patrick Sexton, CTO, Greg Van de Vere, CFO, and Michael Camp, COO. The company’s board will include existing members from Hyliion and Tortoise Acquisition Corp., including Cubbage, Stephen Pang, managing director and portfolio manager at Tortoise Capital Advisors, Ed Olkkola, managing director at Teakwood Capital, Howard Jenkins, former chairman and CEO of Publix Super Markets, and others to be added at a later date.

Transaction Overview

The pro forma implied market capitalization of the combined company is over $1.5 billion, at the $10.00 per share PIPE subscription price and assuming no public shareholders of Tortoise Acquisition Corp. exercise their redemption rights. The company will receive $560 million of proceeds from an upsized $325 million PIPE, along with cash held in trust assuming no public shareholders of Tortoise Acquisition Corp. exercise their redemption rights at closing.

These funds will be used to accelerate product commercialization, product production, operational growth and for general corporate purposes. The boards of directors of both Tortoise Acquisition Corp. and Hyliion unanimously approved the transaction. Completion of the proposed transaction is subject to customary closing conditions and is expected to be completed around the end of the third quarter of 2020. All existing shareholders and investors will continue to hold their equity ownership, including Dana, Sensata Technologies, Sumitomo Corporation of Americas, Axioma Ventures, FJ Management, New Era Capital Partners, Colle Capital Partners and others.

Marathon Capital is serving as exclusive strategic and financial advisor, and Cooley LLP and Wick Phillips LLP are serving as legal advisors to Hyliion. Barclays Capital Inc. served as exclusive M&A advisor to Tortoise Acquisition Corp. Barclays Capital Inc. and Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC served as joint-placement agents on the PIPE offering. Vinson & Elkins L.L.P. is serving as legal advisor to Tortoise Acquisition Corp.

About Hyliion

Headquartered in Austin, Texas, Hyliion’s mission is to reduce the carbon intensity and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of commercial transportation Class 8 vehicles by being the leading provider of electrified powertrain solutions. Leveraging advanced software algorithms and data analytics capabilities, Hyliion offers fleets an easy, efficient system to decrease fuel and operating expenses while seamlessly integrating with their existing fleet operations. It designs, develops and sells electrified powertrain solutions for Heavy Duty Class 8 trucks from any of the leading commercial vehicle manufacturers, transforming the transportation industry’s environmental impact at scale.

About Tortoise Acquisition Corp.

Tortoise Acquisition Corp. (NYSE: SHLL) is a special purpose acquisition company formed for the purpose of effecting a merger, stock exchange, acquisition, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses. Tortoise’s expertise spans across the entire energy and infrastructure value chain. Our strategy has been to combine with a company to take advantage of the global opportunities created by the energy transition including clean energy generation and storage, alternative fuels and transportation, technological advances and changes in energy policies.