Archer Aviation Inc (ACHR)

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NEWS: Stellantis Invests Additional $55 Million In Archer Following Recent Flight Test Milestone

* Investment from Stellantis under the companies’ strategic funding agreement builds on the $39 million worth of open market purchases of Archer stock that Stellantis completed earlier this year, and the $110 million investment made by Stellantis in Archer during 2023

* Construction nears completion on Archer’s high-volume manufacturing facility in Covington, GA, which is on track to be completed later this year

AMSTERDAM & SANTA CLARA, Calif., July 02, 2024--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Stellantis N.V. (NYSE: STLA / Euronext Milan: STLAM / Euronext Paris: STLAP) and Archer Aviation Inc. (NYSE:ACHR), a leader in electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft, today announced Archer has received an additional $55 million investment from Stellantis under the companies’ strategic funding agreement following the achievement of its transition flight test milestone last month.

This latest investment builds on Stellantis’ series of open market purchases of 8.3 million shares of Archer’s stock in March of this year that was previously announced. During 2023, Stellantis invested $110 million in Archer through a combination of open market stock purchases and investments under the companies’ strategic funding agreement.

Archer remains on track to complete construction of its high-volume manufacturing facility in Georgia later this year. This first phase of the build out is a ~350,000 square foot facility on an ~100 acre site designed to support production of up to 650 aircraft annually, which would make it one of the largest manufacturing facilities by volume in the aircraft industry. Archer’s goal with this facility remains to establish a factory that can support its planned commercial ramp up by leveraging the expertise of Stellantis as its contract manufacturer.

"Few things rival the excitement of seeing a dream take flight. I applaud the innovation, expertise and hard work of the engineering and manufacturing teams from Stellantis and Archer," said Carlos Tavares, Stellantis CEO. "With this additional investment in Archer, we remain on course for a future where freedom of mobility extends beyond today’s roads."

"The commitment by Stellantis to Archer has been unrivaled, from its foresight to provide the manufacturing expertise and capital needed to accelerate Archer’s business objectives, to the strategic vision and steadfast support from Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares," said Archer CEO, Adam Goldstein. "Together, we’re working to redefine urban transportation, opening new worlds of opportunity for citizens across the globe by providing more efficient access to people, places, and events across the regions they live in."

Stellantis has been a strategic partner to Archer since 2020 through various collaboration initiatives, and as an investor since 2021. During this time, Archer has leveraged Stellantis’ deep manufacturing, supply chain, and design expertise in connection with Archer’s efforts to design, develop, and commercialize its eVTOL aircraft.

Archer’s goal is to transform urban travel, replacing 60–90 minute commutes by car with estimated 10–20 minute electric air taxi flights that are safe, sustainable, low noise, and cost-competitive with ground transportation. Archer’s Midnight is a piloted, four-passenger aircraft designed to perform rapid back-to-back flights with minimal charge time between flights.