The remaining parts of Proterra Inc find a buyer in Phoenix Motorcars

Volvo reportedly had offered 210 million dollars not even two weeks ago. Both deals come just a few months after the US electric bus and battery manufacturer filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the US.

Volvo will take over the development centre for battery modules and packs in California and Proterra’s battery assembly plant in South Carolina, which opened in January 2023. It remains to be seen how Volvo will integrate the Proterra business into its group structure.

As for Phoenix Motors, today’s deal with Proterra includes battery lease assets worth 6.5 million dollars. The remaining 3.5 million is for Phoenix to take on Proterra Transit. The company expects the acquisition will add heavy-duty transit buses to Phoenix’s existing range of medium-duty shuttle and school buses.

“Proterra has built a strong market share in the full-size, zero-emission transit bus market, just as Phoenix has done in the medium-duty market,” said Denton Peng, CEO of Phoenix Motorcars. “We are excited about the attractive business synergy and growth opportunities as we add a full suite of transit bus offerings to our fleet customers across North America.”

Proterra filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the US in August, effectively a self-administered bankruptcy proceeding for restructuring. 

Phoenix and Proterra must, therefore, seek US Bankruptcy Court approval for the sale and will do so on 28 November. If approved, they plan to close as soon as possible after that.

Proterra went public in 2021 via the SPAC merger to facilitate access to investor funds. At the time, the company was valued at 1.6 billion dollars, including debt. At the last close of trading before the Chapter 11 bankruptcy announcement, Proterra still had a market value of 362 million dollars.

Proterra ramped up production at a new battery assembly plant in Greer, South Carolina, this January. The company operated another plant in California. In both cases, cylindrical cells from LG Energy Solution are processed into battery packs used in Proterra’s electric buses and by third-party customers. 

Phoenix Motorcars needs yet to mention how it may integrate existing deals from Proterra.

Battery systems from Proterra are purchased by companies such as the Shyft Group, Nikola, Vicinity Motor, Anadolu Isuzu, and Volta Trucks.

Update 15 January 2024

Phoenix Motorcars has acquired the bus division of the insolvent US company Proterra. The takeover of Proterra Transit (see above), which was announced in November, has now been completed after Phoenix Motorcars received the necessary approval from the insolvency court.

Phoenix Motorcars has so far mainly manufactured medium-duty shuttle and school buses. With the takeover, the company intends to expand its portfolio to include the heavy-duty transit buses that Proterra Transit sold until its insolvency. According to earlier information, the purchase price was said to be around ten million US dollars, but this sum is no longer mentioned in the current announcement on the completion of the deal.

“Proterra has a strong position in the full-size, zero-emission transit bus market, just as Phoenix has in the medium-duty market. After spending countless hours meeting with Proterra Transit team members and learning more about their business, we are more excited than ever about this acquisition opportunity,” said Denton Peng, CEO of Phoenix. “We have already identified attractive growth opportunities as we expand our product offering to include transit buses, and we look forward to serving Proterra Transit’s existing customers and building long-term relationships with them.”

As reported, the Volvo Group intends to acquire Proterra’s battery business. The purchase has yet to be finalized.

phoenixmotorcars.com, accesswire.com (update)