Nikola Tre BEV
Courtesy: Nikola
Electric truck maker Nikola won shareholder approval to issue recent stock, the corporate said late on Thursday.
The vote paves the best way for Nikola to boost additional funds to support the launch of its fuel-cell-powered electric Tre semitruck and the buildout of a hydrogen refueling network within the U.S. and Canada.
Nikola was forced to adjourn its annual meeting in June, and again in July, after the full votes fell in need of the number required to pass the proposal. The corporate’s founder and former chairman and CEO, Trevor Milton, had lobbied against the proposal in a series of social media posts.
Milton resigned in 2020, but he still owns about 7.5% of Nikola’s shares and has the proper to vote one other 5.8% via an investment vehicle he co-owns. He was convicted in October on three counts of fraud related to his time at Nikola and is resulting from be sentenced on Sep. 22.
Milton tried to dam an analogous share-increase proposal last yr. That proposal also passed, but not until after Nikola adjourned last yr’s annual meeting 3 times to drum up more votes.
Under the law in Delaware, where Nikola is incorporated, the measure originally required approval by owners of at the very least 50% of the corporate’s outstanding shares to pass. Nevertheless, that law modified on Aug. 1, and now only a straightforward majority of shares voted is required to approve a rise in authorized shares.
Nikola had originally asked shareholders to approve the proposal ahead of its June 6 annual meeting. While the proposal was supported by 77% of those that voted, the full variety of shares voted fell in need of the 50% threshold then required by Delaware law. A second attempt on July 6 fell short as well.
With Thursday’s passage, Nikola said it will probably now increase its total shares outstanding from 800 million to 1.6 billion, giving it added flexibility to boost money by issuing recent shares as needed.
The corporate recently began production of the long-awaited hydrogen fuel cell version of its Tre electric semitruck and expects to make its first deliveries later this yr. As of Aug. 2, it had over 200 orders in hand for the brand new truck.
With approval to issue recent shares in hand, Nikola is predicted to boost extra money to assist fund the brand new truck’s production ramp and to expand its hydrogen refueling network within the U.S. and Canada.
Nikola will report its second-quarter results before the U.S. markets open on Friday, Aug. 4.
