Kirkland Advises Ares Acquisition Corporation II on Business Combination with Kodiak, a Leading Provider of AI-Powered Autonomous Vehicle Technology

Kirkland & Ellis advised Ares Acquisition Corporation II (NYSE: AACT) (AACT), a publicly traded special purpose acquisition company and affiliate of Ares Management Corporation (NYSE: ARES), on a definitive business combination agreement with Kodiak Robotics, Inc., a leading provider of AI-powered autonomous vehicle technology, through which Kodiak will become a publicly-listed company. 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. Additionally, certain institutional investors, including affiliates of Soros Fund Management, ARK Investments and Ares, have invested or committed over $110 million to support the transaction.

Read the transaction press release

The Kirkland team included corporate lawyers Monica Shilling and Walton Dumas; and capital markets lawyers Pippa Bond and Van Whiting.