Kodiak Robotics secures $145 million in PIPE financing ahead of SPAC deal

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. - Autonomous trucking company Kodiak Robotics has secured a $145 million PIPE commitment from institutional investors to support its planned business combination with Ares Acquisition Corporation II (NYSE:AACT), currently valued at $705.82 million, according to a company statement released Monday.

The financing package includes convertible preferred stock and common stock warrants. To date, institutional investors have funded or committed over $220 million to Kodiak and AACT since announcing their merger plans. The combined entity will also receive remaining cash from AACT’s trust account after any shareholder redemptions at the upcoming September 23 extraordinary general meeting.

As of August 18, AACT held approximately $562 million in its trust account, though this figure does not account for potential redemptions or transaction expenses.

"We believe these additional investments underscore our investors’ confidence in the value proposition of Kodiak’s safe and commercially-deployed autonomous technology," said Don Burnette, Founder and CEO of Kodiak Robotics, in the press release. AACT currently trades at a P/E ratio of 43.52, and according to InvestingPro analysis, the stock appears overvalued relative to its Fair Value. Discover more overvalued stocks at Investing.com’s Most Overvalued list.

Founded in 2018, Kodiak develops AI-powered autonomous vehicle technology primarily focused on trucking applications. The company claims it achieved a milestone in 2024 by deploying customer-owned and operated driverless trucks in commercial service.

Following the completion of the business combination, the company plans to list on the Nasdaq Stock Market under the symbols "KDK" and "KDKRW" for its common stock and public warrants, respectively. The Nasdaq listing remains subject to the closing of the proposed business combination and fulfillment of all listing requirements.

The extraordinary general meeting for AACT shareholders to vote on the proposed business combination is scheduled for September 23, 2025. Shareholders of record as of August 20, 2025, are eligible to vote.

In other recent news, Kodiak Robotics has appointed Mohamed "Mo" Elshenawy to its board of directors. Elshenawy previously held key leadership roles at Cruise LLC, where he was instrumental in launching commercial driverless rideshare services in San Francisco and expanding operations to several U.S. cities. This appointment is part of Kodiak Robotics’ ongoing efforts to strengthen its leadership team. Meanwhile, Ares Acquisition Corp II has entered into a $2 million working capital loan agreement with its sponsor, Ares Acquisition Holdings II LP. The loan is unsecured and does not bear interest, with repayment due upon the completion of the company’s initial business combination or by the final date allowed under its governing documents. The loan can be repaid early without any penalties, and its maturity date may be accelerated in case of a default event. These recent developments highlight the strategic moves by both companies to bolster their financial and leadership positions.

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