Electric Truckmaker Nikola Prods Investors To Back 200 Million-Share Offering

Less than a week before its annual meeting, the maker of battery- and hydrogen-powered trucks is asking investors to approve a plan to raise cash. The founder doesn't like the move.

The Phoenix-based company, which started delivering electric semis this quarter built at its Coolidge, Arizona, plant, hopes to raise much-needed funds by boosting its shares outstanding by a third The company's annual meeting will be held on June 30.

The proposal would allow the company to increase the number of authorized shares of common stock in order to support the growth of the business. I would like to be clear. We need everyone to vote by the end of the week.

Since going public in June 2020, there have been a lot of ups and downs. The founder of the company, who remains a major shareholder, was forced out of the company after being accused of lying to investors and is due to go on trial in July. He denied that he had done anything wrong. The company paid a $125 million fine to the SEC and streamlined operations under CEO Mark Russell. A string of new partnerships with energy and industrial companies has been announced, but funds are getting tight.

Over the past two years, the company's shares have plummeted from as high as $70 per share on June 20, 2020, to as low as $5.57 in the middle of the day. The time is New York time.

The company adjourned the proceedings until next week afterMilton voted against the share sale plan.

The company has about $360 million of cash and equivalents, but needs more money to complete the construction of its Coolidge plant, build hydrogen fuel cell trucks and set up large scale hydrogen fuel stations.

In order to increase the number of shares for our company's common stock, you need to vote for proposal two. If you don't vote, you're effectively voting against the proposal.