Thursday, September 3, 2020

Surf Air Gets Promise Of $200M, If It Goes Public

Los Angeles-based subscription air travel provider Surf Air Mobility Corporation--the latest incarnation of Surf Air--says an investor has promised it $200M in investment, if the company manages to go public. According to Surf Air Mobility, Luxembourg-based Global Emerging Markets Group (GEM) promised the investment, with the first $50M to the company available "on the first day of trading" and additional tranches over a three year period. Surf Air says it hopes to go public "in coming months". The announcement is somewhat unusual, as the promise of investment only comes if it manages a public listing, which typically is not a smooth and predictable path. Surf Air Mobility Corp. is currently led by CEO Sudhin Shahani; the company said it is now focused on "accelerating the world's path to zero emission travel." The company previously had been offering up a subscription, all-you-can-fly airline service; the company now says it is focused on electric aircraft technology, in addition to its "on-demand" flights.