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Lotus Tech has been looking to go public since at least early last year. Management may have been encouraged by another luxury auto brand’s recent listing:when it debuted in Frankfurt in September. A week later, Porsche overtook Volkswagen as Europe’s most valuable automaker. Rather than go the IPO route, Lotus Tech will merge with a SPAC whose sponsor combined with the private equity operations of Arnault’s luxury-goods powerhouse LVMH in 2016. LVMH is a passive minority investor in L Catterton, according to a spokeswoman.
Arnault overtook Tesla Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk as the world’s richest man last month — the first time a European claimed the top spot on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.