Velodyne shares rose 58% to $5.95 in after-hours trading.
Photo: edgar su/Reuters
Velodyne Lidar Inc.’s VLDR -0.79% stock jumped more than 50% in extended-hours trading Monday after the maker of sensors for autonomous cars reported an investment by Amazon.com Inc. AMZN 0.19%
The California-based Velodyne on Monday said it would issue a warrant for an Amazon subsidiary to buy nearly 39.6 million shares. In return, Amazon would get a board observer as long as its stake stays above about 12.3 million shares. The deal also includes a so-called standstill agreement.
Amazon was unavailable for an immediate comment.
The warrants could be exercised any time before Feb. 4, 2030, at an exercise price of $4.18 a share. The warrant shares will vest over time based on discretionary payments by Amazon of up to $200 million.
Velodyne shares rose 58% to $5.95 in after-hours trading. The stock, which has traded from $3.13 to $24.70 over the past year, closed Monday at $3.77.
Velodyne started trading publicly in 2020 after merging with Graf Industrial Corp., a special-purpose acquisition company.
The company is slated to report fourth-quarter and full-year results on Feb. 28. It reported a nearly 43% drop in revenue for the first nine months of the year, and its loss more than quadrupled to $174.8 million.
Write to Maria Armental at [email protected]
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Appeared in the February 8, 2022, print edition as ‘Velodyne Shares Soar on Amazon Investment.’
