On April 14, 2025, Kodiak Robotics, Inc., a leading provider of AI-powered autonomous vehicle technology, and Ares Acquisition Corporation II (AACT), a publicly traded special purpose acquisition company, announced they have entered into a definitive business combination agreement through which Kodiak will become a publicly listed company. AACT is an affiliate of Ares Management Corporation (Ares). Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati is advising Kodiak on the transaction.

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.

The boards of directors of both Kodiak and AACT have unanimously approved the proposed business combination, which is expected to close in the second half of 2025, subject to approval by AACT and Kodiak stockholders and the satisfaction or waiver of customary closing conditions. Upon the closing of the proposed business combination, the combined company will be named Kodiak AI, Inc., and its common stock and public warrants are expected to be listed on a national stock exchange and trade under the ticker symbols “KDK” and “KDK WS,” respectively, subject to approval by the relevant exchange.

The Wilson Sonsini team advising Kodiak on the transaction includes:

Corporate
Jeffrey Saper
Melissa Rick
Austin March
Helen Qi
Matt Maricic
Jing Zhang
Robert Deng

M&A
Erin Malone-Shkurkin
Joy-Annette Atsegbua
Yifeng Li

For more information, please see the companies’ news release.