– A subsidiary of Amazon.com Inc has secured a warrant to acquire 39.6 million shares in Velodyne Lidar Inc, the sensor maker said on Monday, more than doubling its share price in after-market trade.
Shares were up 88% at $7.09, as of 16:35 ET, after gaining as much as 127%.
Velodyne had lost about 80% in value in 2021 amid internal conflict with management as well as the resignation of its former chief executive Anand Gopalan in July.
According to the deal, Amazon.com NV Investment Holdings, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Amazon, can exercise the warrant on or before Feb. 4, 2030 at $4.18 per share. Velodyne shares closed Monday at $3.77.
The warrant shares will vest over time based on “discretionary payments” to Velodyne by Amazon of up to $200 million. According to the terms of the deal, Amazon can appoint a board observer when its shareholding crosses 12.3 million shares.
(Reporting by Yuvraj Malik and Eva Mathews in Bengaluru; Editing by Krishna Chandra Eluri)
