Faraday Future plans 3.4bn IPO

Electric vehicle company Faraday Future announced Thursday that it will go public through a merger with Property Solutions Acquisition Corp, a special-purchase acquisition company (SPAC). The transaction, backed by a private investment of $ 775 million, is expected to generate gross proceeds of $ 1 billion for Faraday Future. Chinese automaker Geely will act as the anchor investor in the private placement, Reuters reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter. Faraday plans to set up a new site in China and hire Geely for contract manufacturing. Los Angeles-based Faraday Future was founded by infamous Chinese entrepreneur Jia Yueting, who completed his personal bankruptcy filing in June 2020. The founder's bankruptcy filing has been criticized by the media because multiple sources revealed that he and his family still own a large amount of assets. Jia is known for founding Leshi, a streaming media platform in China. But since then, the company began expanding into manufacturing cell phones, televisions, and even electric cars, resulting in high levels of debt. The EV company has used up all of about $ 2 billion that Jia and Chinese real estate giant Evergrande put into it over the years. Breitfeld has said it takes $ 850 million to go into production. However, according to The Verge, Faraday Future only had $ 6.8 million in cash at the end of July 2019 (the latest data disclosed in Jia's bankruptcy filing). The CEO said Jia no longer owns Faraday shares, which are more than half owned by employees through a partnership with senior management and an employee share ownership plan. The combined company will be listed on the Nasdaq under the symbol "FFIE," according to Faraday Future and Property Solutions Acquisition Corp.