Th!nk saved by outside investors Ener1
Click above for a gallery of the Th!nk City
Th!nk's not dead yet, though it might still officially be on life support. As expected, an outside group of investors has stepped up to the plate and bailed out the Norwegian electric car company with a bridge loan of 40 million crowns ($5.69 million). The largest bit of funding comes courtesy of Ener1 Group Inc. If that name sounds familiar, it's because they're the private equity firm that owns 57% of Ener1, which, in turn, is the maker of battery packs that are being used in the Th!nk City. This figure is short of the 100-200 million crowns that Th!nk's administration said may be necessary for continued operation, but Th!nk's Richard Canny says it gives them time to get final funding in place and to begin working back up to regular production. Ener1 Chairman and CEO Charles Gassenheimer told AutoblogGreen that, "Ener1 Group has been very interested in furthering its investments in Electric Drive, so this fits within our investment paradigm. The financial distress in December took all of us by surprise, so this is just a short term solution. This will give us until March to complete the larger round. This funding round will allow Think to start ramping up production as early as February, with an eye to getting back into full volume production by April." Thanks to everyone who tipped this!
Gallery: Th!nk City
[Source: Reuters]
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