By Russ Wiles | The Republic
The Phoenix-based maker of zero-emission heavy trucks Nikola Corp. will become a publicly traded corporation later this week, possibly worth $11 billion or more, if a vote to approve its merger with another company succeeds as expected.
More than $700 million in proceeds from the reverse-merger transaction with VectoIQ Acquisition Corp. will allow Nikola to continue research in zero-pollution electric and hydrogen vehicles, break ground on a new Arizona factory in Coolidge and build a network of hydrogen fueling stations for semitrucks.
It also results in a new Arizona billionaire —Trevor Milton, who founded Nikola in 2015 and will hold about 42% of the combined company’s shares.
