© Reuters. Tianqi Litium invests $150M as EV brand Smart seeks additional funding
Smart, a joint venture of Germany’s Mercedes Benz (OTC:) and China’s Geely Automobile Holdings (OTC:), revealed Thursday its intentions to pursue series-A funding in order to secure $250-300 million. The objective behind this fundraising initiative is to strengthen its long-term sustainable development strategy while expediting its global expansion efforts.
According to a statement by Smart, Tianqi Lithium (SZ:), a Chinese lithium producer, has agreed to invest $150M towards the cause.
“Thanks to the support from Mercedes-Benz and Geely, Smart now is accelerating its global development and business operation. Meanwhile, we are more than glad to welcome the strategic investments of worldwide industry leaders, such as Tianqi Lithium,” Smart’s Global CEO Tong Xiangbei said in the statement.
“We are confident this move will allow us to further broaden Smart’s horizons and strengthen our next-step plans to enhance the competences of Smart in global markets,” he said.
