Ford Motor Co (NYSE: F) has vacated its seat on the board of electric vehicle startup Rivian Automotive Inc ahead of the latter’s initial public offering, Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday.
What Happened: Ford Vice President of Corporate Development Doug Power vacated the seat on the startup’s board last month, as per Bloomberg.
Rivian is backed by Ford and Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ: AMZN) and is said to be eyeing raising $80 billion in the IPO.
See Also: Amazon-Backed Rivian Rolls 1st Electric Pickup Off Assembly Line, Beating Likes Of Tesla, Ford
The seat had earlier been held by Alexandra Ford English, the great-great-granddaughter of founder Henry Ford. English left Rivian in May after being named a director on the legacy automaker’s board.
Ford would not have a presence on Rivian’s board as the startup goes public, the legacy automaker said, adding Rivian remains a strategic investment for the company, as per the report.
Why It Matters: Both Ford and Amazon are heavily invested in the electric vehicle startup. Ford owns a little more than 5% stake in Rivian at an investment of over $820 million. Amazon owns about 5% shares as well.
Rivian has filed for an initial public offering to list on the Nasdaq. The electric vehicle startup in September started rolling out its highly anticipated R1T plug-in pickup, beating Tesla Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA), General Motors Co (NYSE: GM) and Ford, which are yet to start commercially producing an electric pickup truck.
Price Action: Ford shares closed 0.83% lower at $15.51 a share on Wednesday.
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Photo: Courtesy of Rivian
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