Ropes & Gray Advises on Ares Acquisition Corporation II Business Combination with Kodiak Robotics

In The News
April 22, 2025
Attorneys:

Ropes & Gray represented Citigroup Global Markets and J.P. Morgan Securities as capital markets advisors to Ares Acquisition Corporation II (NYSE: AACT) in its proposed business combination with Kodiak Robotics, a provider of AI-powered autonomous vehicle technology. The combination was announced in an April 14 press release.

The proposed business combination ascribes a pre-money equity value of $2.5 billion to Kodiak. The combined company is expected to receive approximately $551 million of cash held in AACT's trust account at closing, assuming no redemptions of existing AACT shares and based on trust value per share as of December 31, 2024. 

Ares Acquisition Corporation II is a publicly traded special purpose acquisition company affiliated with Ares Management Corporation (NYSE: ARES).

The team was led by capital markets partner Paul Tropp.