Saudi wealth fund-backed Lucid Group to raise $3bn

PIF-affiliated company to buy 265.7m shares in a private placement

US-based electric vehicle manufacturer Lucid Group plans to raise $3 billion through a stock offering, 66 percent of which will come from Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund.

Ayar Third Investment Co, which is its majority stockholder and an affiliate of the PIF, has agreed to buy as much as 265.7 million shares in a private placement for about $1.8 billion, according to a statement.

The private placement is projected to close on June 26 and is subject to the completion of the public offering and customary closing conditions.

Following the deal, the PIF affiliate anticipates maintaining its approximate 60.5 percent ownership of Lucid Motors’ outstanding common stock.

Lucid Motors is planning to allocate the proceeds from the public offering and private placement for general corporate purposes including capital expenditures and working capital.

Last year, Lucid Group signed a deal for the construction of a plant in the Kingdom that will produce 150,000 electric vehicles per year. It signed agreements with the Saudi Investment Ministry, the Saudi Industrial Development Fund, and the King Abdullah Economic City.

The American company is expected to receive financing and incentives of up to $3.4 billion over the next 15 years to build and operate the manufacturing facility in the Kingdom.

To be located in King Abdullah Economic City, AMP-2 is the Public Investment Fund-backed electric vehicle manufacturer’s first production facility outside the US, according to a statement.

“We are keen to achieve high and sustainable human capital localization in line with Vision 2030,” the managing director and vice president of Lucid Middle East, Faisal Sultan, told Arab News back in April.

“With our recently launched Lucid Future Talent program — in collaboration with the Human Resources Development Fund — we plan to provide the right training to enrich and prepare local talent to fill future job opportunities in the Kingdom,” Sultan explained.

File To be located in King Abdullah Economic City, AMP-2 is the EV manufacturer’s first production facility outside the US.

Reuters/File Lucid is among the biggest US investments of the Kingdom’s Public Investment Fund, which has been tasked with driving its plan to cut its reliance on oil.