Ford Exits Rivian Board Ahead Of EV Startup's IPO

Ford Motor Co F has vacated its seat on the board of electric vehicle startup Rivian Automotive Inc ahead of the latter's initial public offering, Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday.

What Happened: Ford Vice President of Corporate Development Doug Power vacated the seat on the startup’s board last month, as per Bloomberg.

Rivian is backed by Ford and Amazon.com Inc AMZN and is said to be eyeing raising $80 billion in the IPO. 

See Also: Amazon-Backed Rivian Rolls 1st Electric Pickup Off Assembly Line, Beating Likes Of Tesla, Ford

The seat had earlier been held by Alexandra Ford English, the great-great-granddaughter of founder Henry Ford. English left Rivian in May after being named a director on the legacy automaker's board. 

Ford would not have a presence on Rivian’s board as the startup goes public, the legacy automaker said, adding Rivian remains a strategic investment for the company, as per the report.

Why It Matters: Both Ford and Amazon are heavily invested in the electric vehicle startup. Ford owns a little more than 5% stake in Rivian at an investment of over $820 million. Amazon owns about 5% shares as well.

Rivian has filed for an initial public offering to list on the Nasdaq. The electric vehicle startup in September started rolling out its highly anticipated R1T plug-in pickup, beating Tesla Inc TSLA, General Motors Co GM and Ford, which are yet to start commercially producing an electric pickup truck.

Price Action: Ford shares closed 0.83% lower at $15.51 a share on Wednesday.

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Photo: Courtesy of Rivian