Merger deals by those SPACs have also plummeted, from a combined total of $115 billion last year to $15 billion since Jan. 1, the data shows.
The structure of SPAC transactions has changed, too, after investors suffered losses on private placements at the IPO price, typically $10 a share.
The e.GO transaction does not have a private investment in public equity, or PIPE, relying instead on the debt to help fund it.
e.GO’s only model on the road is the e.wave.x, a four-seat urban vehicle similar to the Smart minicar. The e.wave.x costs at least 24,990 euros ($25,490), while the Smart, which is smaller, sells for 18,370 euros.
e.GO, based in Aachen, Germany, has delivered more than 1,000 cars so far.
Athena Consumer, founded by venture capitalist Isabelle Freidheim, raised $230 million in its IPO in October, saying it planned to invest in businesses offering technology-enabled consumer goods and/or services.
“We have seen SPAC combinations slow down to a trickle because the bar has been raised measurably,” Freidheim said in an interview with Bloomberg Television. “Clearly, e.GO is a company that meets that bar.”
The combined company is to trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol EGOX.