Podcast Episode Details
Back to Podcast EpisodesPolestar Gets Another $300 Million Lifeline to Keep Its EV Plans on Track
Polestar has secured another bailout-sized cash injection, landing $300 million in new equity while major shareholder Geely converts a similar amount of debt into stock.
It’s the latest step in a string of rescue moves meant to keep the EV brand liquid long enough for the Polestar 3 and Polestar 4 launches to gain traction.
New Equity Deal Brings In BBVA And Natixis
The fresh money arrives via a private placement of new Class A shares to two banking heavyweights, BBVA and Natixis, which are investing $150 million each. The shares are being sold at a price tied to Polestar’s recent average trading levels, and no single investor will be allowed to end up with more than 10% of the company once the deal closes.
Polestar says the proceeds will be used to strengthen liquidity and the balance sheet as it ramps production and sales, that includes scaling up the Polestar 3. The new equity is meant to help underpin that push while the company works toward its existing revenue and margin targets.
Geely Converts Debt And Extends More Credit
Alongside the $300 million cash raise, Geely Sweden Holdings is converting roughly $300 million of existing shareholder loans, plus some accrued interest, into equity. That move cuts Polestar’s debt load and should trim annual interest expense by tens of millions of dollars, at the cost of further dilution for existing shareholders.
The latest package also sits on top of a previously announced loan facility of up to $600 million from a Geely unit, giving Polestar a sizeable, if heavily related-party, safety net. There’s an added backstop baked into the structure too: the new bank investors get the option to sell their shares back to a Geely-owned entity at a defined return after a few years. In practice, Geely is quietly underwriting the risk and signaling it still intends to keep Polestar afloat.
Buying Time For Polestar 3, 4 And 5
Taken together, the equity infusion, debt-for-equity swap and loan facility amount to roughly $1.2 billion in support agreed in a single month. It’s less a growth round than an emergency recapitalization designed to buy time for Polestar’s product plan. Beyond the 3, the brand is counting on the sleeker Polestar 4, which we’ve already sampled in Texas, and the upcoming Polestar 5.
The question now isn’t whether Polestar has enough short-term funding; on paper, it does. The real test will be whether the brand can turn that runway into sustained demand and m
Published on 4 days, 1 hour ago