After filing for bankruptcy in October, today the administrators of Volta Trucks have officially confirmed speculations that New York-based hedge fund Luxor Capital Group has purchased the company outright.
The financials of the deal were not disclosed.
Having led three of five of Volta Trucks’ funding rounds, Series A, B, and C, Luxor Capital the move not only keeps Luxor’s investment from the write-off pile but also keeps Volta Trucks’ IP in play.
In a statement issued by administrators Alvarez & Marsal, managing director Andrea Jakes commented:
"We're pleased to have safeguarded the future of Volta Trucks by facilitating its acquisition by Volta Commercial Vehicles Ltd."
The company’s workforce, however, appears to be a different story.
600 jobs
As reported at the time of the bankruptcy filing, Volta Trucks’ employed over 800 individuals, 600 of whom are based in the UK.
In conjunction with administrators Alvarez & Marsal’s confirmation of the buyout, according to a filing by Sky News, “the vast majority of those employees lost their jobs and that a small number of staff, who were retained, will keep their roles under the new owner”
Domino effect
As a result of the collapse of California-based electric bus maker, and more specifically supplier of batteries to Volta Trucks, Proterra, the company said that production forecasting numbers were reduced, and without a secured battery supplier, the company was unable to attract new investors.
The company claims to have had a total pipeline value of €4.2 billion, with a pre-order bank of €1.5 billion, and had received interest from numerous customers including a pre-order from logistics and supply chain provider DB Schenker of 1,470 of its vehicles.
The company had been running pilot programmes in five countries across Europe, including the UK.
Naming of names
While it comes down to nomenclature, the deal saw Volta Trucks Ltd, the UK subsidiary of Swedish parent company Volta Trucks AB, sold to Volta Commercial Vehicles Limited, a Luxor Capital Group-owned entity that according to a Companies House listing was incorporated on the 8th of November of this year.
In addition to Luxor Capital Group, historic backers of Volta Trucks include Waypoint Capital, Singapore-based logistics firm Agility, Nasdaq-listed Swedish investment house Byggmästare A J Ahlström, and collapsed battery maker Proterra.
Lead image via Volta Trucks.
Would you like to write the first comment?
Login to post comments