With the placement of 10 million common shares on the Nasdaq, the IPO launched in October of Sono Motors has now been completed. This corresponds to 15 percent of the company's shares. However, the majority of voting rights remain with the founders, Laurin Hahn and Jona Christians. The placement price per share was $15.00. In addition, the startup granted the underwriters a 30-day option to purchase up to 1.5 million additional common shares at the public offering price.
The share price reached its first high of $43.44 at the New York Stock Exchange's close of the same day. The startup's market capitalization was thus just over $2.75 billion (€2.43 billion).
In its IPO prospectus, Sono Motors stated that the startup expects to file for insolvency in December 2021 or shortly thereafter if no further financing is forthcoming. However, this has now been averted, as founder and CEO Laurin Hahn confirmed to the German Press Agency. The startup expects to generate proceeds of approximately 119 million euros (135 million dollars) from the IPO.
Setbacks in the production of the Sion
The start of production of the Sion has already been postponed several times, most recently to 2023. The electric car is scheduled to roll off the production lines of a Saab factory in Trollhättan, Sweden, which will be operated by National Electric Vehicle Sweden (NEVS) from 2023. However, NEVS is part of the struggling Chinese real estate group Evergrande and faces an uncertain future itself. In the wake of Sono's IPO, NEVS CEO Stefan Tilk told the Swedish newspaper Daily Newsthat the Munich-based company is not a potential buyer of NEVS, and that the production of the Sion does not determine the company's future. Rather, it is merely a source of additional income. Furthermore, although parts of the factory are prepared for the production of the Sion, there is no agreement regarding production.
Crowdfunding and profit sharing at Sono
In the winter of 2019/2020, Sono Motors raised €50 million from the crowd with a high-profile campaign. This sum was made up of down payments, payment commitments, share sales, donations, and loans. At the time, the startup also promised its backers a share of the profits: Depending on the amount of their down payment, they received so-called Sono points. These non-transferable points grant their owners a share of the community pool, which is to be funded by future dividends and capital gains from almost all of the founders' shares.
