Shareholders in Broadstone Acquisition Corp. are set to vote on a proposed business combination with eVTOL aircraft developer Vertical Aerospace in a virtual meeting on December 14. The anticipated approval, which is backed by the special purpose acquisition company’s board, should lead to a New York Stock Exchange listing for the merged enterprise soon after, under the trading symbols EVTL and EVTLW.
The planned merger and Wall Street listing were announced on June 10 and Broadstone made its 8-K filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission on December 2. Earlier this year, UK-based Vertical said it expected the deal to value the combined company at between $1.8 billion and $2.2 billion based on a $10 share price for the public investment in private equity (PIPE), generating gross proceeds of $394 million.
American Airlines—which, along with Virgin Atlantic and leasing group Avolon, is a provisional launch customer for up to 1,000 of Vertical Aerospace’s four-passenger VA-X4 eVTOLs—is investing in the PIPE. Program partner Honeywell and Rolls-Royce are also investors, along with earlier strategic backers including Microsoft’s M12 investment arm, 40 North, and Rocket Internet SE.
Vertical now holds provisional orders for 1,350 of its aircraft from customers also including helicopter group Bristow, Iberojet, and Japan’s Marubeni group. It says these commitments are worth $5.4 billion in prospective revenues, implying a base price of $4 million for the VA-X4, which is expected to enter commercial service in 2024. It will operate on routes of up to 100 miles at speeds of up to 200 mph.
