Volta Trucks has been bought out of administration by New York-based hedge fund Luxor Capital Group for an undisclosed sum, in a move which has been hailed as safeguarding the future of the electric truck start up.
However it is unclear if any of the 600 staff at its main UK manufacturing, research and development facilities will be re-employed under the new owners.
The electric truck manufacturer filed for bankruptcy and appointed administrators in October, citing the collapse of its battery supplier Proterra as having a “significant impact” on its manufacturing plans, reducing the volume of vehicles that it had forecast to produce and hampering its ability to raise capital.
News of Volta Truck's purchase by Luxor Capital follows reports last week that the US hedge fund, which was a major Volta Trucks shareholder, was negotiating a deal to buy the company with joint administrators Andrea Jakes, Mark Firmin and Jo Hewitt of professional services firm Alvarez and Marsal Europe.
Announcing the deal, Andrea Jakes, MD of Alvarez and Marsal, said: “We’re pleased to have safeguarded the future of Volta Trucks by facilitating its acquisition by Volta Commercial Vehicles.”
The electric truck manufacturer launched in 2019 and quickly gained momentum, boasting its first 300 customer orders by January this year, worth an estimated £75m, for the production and 2023 delivery of its 16-tonne all-electric Volta Truck.
The group was also succesful in attracting major industry players to its ranks, including Claes Nilsson, former Volvo Trucks president and Dr Karl Viktor Schaller, former MAN chief technology officer.
Volta Trucks had also convinced major logistics firms to trial its trucks, including DPD and DSV, whilst vehicle hire giant Petit Forestier recently signed a rental and leasing deal for refrigerated versions of the 16-tonne and 18-tonne Volta Zero in the UK and Europe.
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