EV firm Proterra files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection
6:36 pm Monday, August 07th, 2023
(Reuters) -Electric-vehicle parts supplier Proterra filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Monday, making it the latest company to go belly up in an industry grappling with supply chain constraints, slowing demand and a funding drought.
The move comes weeks after Lordstown Motors filed for bankruptcy protection and put itself up for sale after failing to resolve a dispute over a promised investment from Foxconn.
Proterra, whose shares nearly halved in value after the bell, listed its assets and liabilities in the range of $500 million to $1 billion. The company had a market value of $362 million as of last close.
In January 2021, Proterra was valued at $1.6 billion, including debt, in a merger deal with a blank-check firm.
“We have faced various market and macroeconomic headwinds that have impacted our ability to efficiently scale,” CEO Gareth Joyce said in a statement.
Proterra, which makes electric buses as well as battery packs, said it intends to continue to operate in the ordinary course of business. It plans to file the customary motions with the bankruptcy court to use existing capital to fund operations.
The company earlier this year announced plans for more job cuts and said it will combine electric bus and battery production in South Carolina as it looks to trim costs.
(Reporting by Manya Saini in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D’Silva and Shinjini Ganguli)
