NEW YORK (Reuters) – Swedish electric vehicle battery maker Northvolt said on Friday it expects to arrange additional bankruptcy financing by the end of January after consulting with more than 100 lenders and potential investors.
Northvolt declared bankruptcy on Nov. 21 with a $100 million bankruptcy loan from Swedish truck maker Scania, a shareholder and its largest customer. But that loan was not intended to get Northvolt through the entire bankruptcy restructuring, and the company has continued to review proposals for additional financing from strategic and financial investors.
Northvolt attorney Jack Luze said during a court hearing in Houston on Friday that the company had contacted more than 100 potential lenders and investors seeking new financing that would allow Northvolt to complete its restructuring.
Luze said the company plans to present a longer-term financing proposal to U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Alfredo Perez at a Jan. 28 court hearing.
Perez granted full approval of Northvolt’s previous bankruptcy loan on Friday, after previously giving Northvolt access to the first $51 million of the loan.
“We are pleased with the results of this hearing, which saw us receive final approval of our proposals to access new financing, a positive step forward in our restructuring,” a Northvolt spokesperson said.
Northvolt has raised more than $10 billion in an effort to produce EV batteries at scale and compete with experienced and entrenched Chinese battery makers. The company, which employs about 6,600 people in seven countries, said it expects to continue normal business operations as it tries to restructure its debt in the event of bankruptcy.
(Reporting by Dietrich Knauth in New York and Marie Mannes in Stockholm; Editing by Rod Nickel)
