VinFast Auto Ltd. made a dazzling market debut, propelling its market value past both General Motors Co. and Ford Motor Co. The Vietnamese electric-vehicle manufacturer went public through a SPAC deal, resulting in an $85 billion valuation after Tuesday’s trading. Shares surged over 270% from the SPAC’s IPO price, tripling the deal’s $23 billion equity value. However, share prices fell below $30 in after-hours trading on Wednesday.
Trading under the symbol VFS on Nasdaq, VinFast’s merger with Black Spade Acquisition Co., a special-purpose acquisition company, led to a 255% surge from the SPAC’s Monday closing price. This year, it’s the highest-performing de-SPAC on a US exchange.
Despite momentarily surpassing BMW AG and the combined market cap of Ford and Rivian Automotive Inc. on paper, VinFast is a low-float company, with only 1.3 million SPAC shares remaining after redemptions, causing volatile price swings.
Founder Pham Nhat Vuong controls about 99% of VinFast, limiting investor access to shares. “Blank check” mergers often lead to short-lived rallies, with 2023 de-SPACs experiencing a median 45% decline, and many losing over 70% of value post-debut, as social media hype wanes.
