EV startup Faraday said in the SPAC merger talks to go public

Photographer: Patrick T. Fallon / Bloomberg

Faraday & Future Inc., an electric vehicle start-up, is in talks to go public through a merger with Property Solutions Acquisition Corp., an empty verification company, according to people with knowledge in this regard.

The special-purpose procurement company is trying to raise more than $ 400 million in equity to support the transaction, which should value the combined entity at about $ 3 billion, people said. As with all transactions that have not been completed, terms may change or discussions may break.

A Faraday spokesman did not respond to several requests for comment. A Property Solutions representative declined to comment.

Faraday of Los Angeles, led by CEO Carsten Breitfeld, was founded by Jia Yueting, an entrepreneur who in October 2019 went bankrupt in the US after accumulating billions of dollars in personal debt. His efforts to build a business empire in China that covers the interests of broadcasting to television have seen him borrow pledged shares, leaving him worth $ 2.3 billion in debt, according to the document.

Jia went bankrupt after setting up a creditors’ trust and transferring all its shares in the electric vehicle company to it, he said in July statement posted on the company’s electric vehicle website. He said that up to 10% of the trust will be given to the compensation of the shareholders of Leshi Internet & Technology Corp., a unit now deregistered from his conglomerate and that he no longer holds any shares in Faraday, but remains employed. The approval of the plan clarified the way for the company to work towards its capital financing objectives, the company said.

This month, Faraday appointed Zvi Glasman, the former chief financial officer of Fox Factory Holdings, as chief financial officer. He said his flagship vehicle, known as the FF 91, would be available for sale about a year after a successful round of financing.