The founder and former chief executive of Lordstown Motors, Steve Burns, has agreed to spend $10 million to purchase the assets of the bankrupt truck manufacturer.
Burns originally founded Lordstown in 2018 and led its IPO with a SPAC in 2020. However, he was forced to leave the automaker in 2021 after it was found that he had grossly overestimated order numbers for the Endurance pickup truck, CarScoops reports.
Lordstown continued to battle issues through 2022 and 2023 culminating in it filing for bankruptcy in June.
The EV truck manufacturer combined with DiamondPeak Holdings three years ago this month in a transaction valued at over $1.6 billion.
Five months later, the SEC began a review of the deal. By June 2021, Lordstown was warning it might have to shut down. Burns and his CFO quit that same month and the stock promptly rolled off a cliff. This news came on the heels of a report that one of the company’s prototypes was prone to catching on fire.
By July 2021 the company was facing 11 class action lawsuits.
Burns will purchase the company’s remaining assets through the LAS Capital LLC which he is the majority equity holder of. Burns’s purchase will reportedly include all machinery, hub motor assembly lines, battery module assembly lines, battery pack assembly lines, all inventory, and other associated machinery. Read more.
