PIF-owned Lucid raises new funds to repay debt

US electric vehicle maker Lucid Motors, majority-owned by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), has raised $1.1 billion in new funding to repay existing debt.

The EV maker has received $1.1 billion through convertible senior notes, debt which can be converted into shares, due in 2030, according to a company statement. 

Lucid will use $936 million of the proceeds to repay debt due in 2026, the statement said. The remaining amount will be used for general corporate purposes.

Lucid has been majority-owned by PIF since April 2019. The sovereign fund invested an additional $1 billion in the company in March last year and a further $1.5 billion in August, bringing its total investment to $8 billion for a 58 percent stake. 

From almost $39 billion in 2021, the year in which Lucid sold shares to the public in a flotation, PIF’s holding in the Silicon Valley, California-based company has tumbled.

• PIF-backed EV maker Lucid beats 2024 delivery estimates
• Tesla to launch in Saudi Arabia next month
• Saudi homegrown Ceer to produce first EVs in 2026

In February Lucid CEO Peter Rawlinson resigned after the company’s accumulated losses rose to almost $13 billion.

Lucid has factories in Arizona and in Jeddah and aims to increase production to 20,000 vehicles this year. Last year, it produced about 9,000 vehicles.

PIF owns shares in 62 US-listed companies, according to its latest regulatory filing.

These include a $4.4 billion stake in the ride-hailing company Uber, a $3.6 billion holding in the video games maker Electronic Arts, and shareholdings in Amazon, PayPal, Microsoft and the semiconductor specialist Arm.