A key point in the 3,000-job Britishvolt gigafactory is expected on Friday as the troubled firm's board discusses a potential rescue deal.
Private equity investor DeaLab Group is reported to have tabled a deal with Barracuda Group which says it is involved in producing metals for the battery and energy storage sector. The deal is reported to be worth £32m for 95% of the company - valuing Britishvolt at 96% less than it was worth just a year ago. The initial offer would be followed by a further £128m investment later in the year.
The move is said to have been met by a counter offer from a number of existing shareholders, who would be significantly diluted if the DeaLab deal was to go ahead. That offer is said to be £30m for 92.5% of the company.
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Britishvolt's financial troubles include its inability to access a £100m government grant promised in early 2022. The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy has said the money would be released once the firm has met certain milestones including securing private investment and orders from customers.
So far several memorandums of understanding have been signed with manufacturers but no concrete deals have been finalised. In November, Business Secretary Grant Shapps said the funding was still available.
At the time, Britishvolt was reported to have averted administration thanks to a short term funding injection, thought to be from an existing investor. In a bid to cut costs, some of the start-up's 300 staff agreed to a voluntary pay cut.
In November, Britishvolt chairman Peter Rolton told BusinessLive that potential investors, with whom talks had stalled, were beginning to come back to the table and said at the time: "I'm confident we'll get somewhere with it now".
Earlier this week Britishvolt issued a statement to BusinessLive which said: "Battery technology pioneer Britishvolt is in discussions with a consortium of investors concerning the potential majority sale of the company.
"The discussions aim to secure legally binding terms that would provide Britishvolt with the long-term sustainability and funding necessary to enable it to pursue its current plans to build a strong and viable battery cell R&D and manufacturing business in the UK. The two parties will provide further details at the appropriate time and have nothing further to add at this stage."
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