What happened

Shares of special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) Pivotal Investment II (PIC) were up more than 11% as of 9:45 a.m. EST Wednesday after the company set a date for a shareholder vote on its planned merger with XL Fleet. 

XL Fleet is a vehicle electrification company that currently focuses on turning commercial and municipal internal combustion engine vehicle fleets into plug-in hybrid drive systems. XL Fleet also has plans to expand to fully electric systems and ancillary businesses. 

So what

Pivotal Investment announced yesterday shareholders will vote on Dec. 21 for the proposed merger to bring XL Fleet to the public markets. 

XL Fleet plug-in hybrid GM box truck

XL Fleet configured GM box truck. Image source: XL Fleet.

The companies had previously said the merger vote would be held by the end of the fourth quarter, so the news isn't really a surprise. But investors are bidding shares up today, perhaps as the electric-vehicle (EV) company is getting more notoriety. 

Now what

Last week, XL Fleet announced something that should have gotten more investor attention than today's news. It said it was creating a new division called XL Grid, to address the charging infrastructure needs of its more than 200 customers. 

Unlike many high-profile SPAC mergers with EV companies, XL Fleet already has an active business with estimated 2020 revenue of $21 million. It believes it will more than triple that to $75 million in 2021 based on demand and its sales pipeline.

Investors today may just be jumping in to another EV company going public. But more research into the fundamentals of the business might also persuade others interested in the EV sector to follow this company more closely.