NEWS
UPDATE 1-Fisker raises $115.3 mln in new funding round
2:30pm EST
* Fisker secures $115.3 mln private equity funding
* A123, Kleiner Perkinds Caufield & Byers among investors
* Funding a condition for $528.7 mln U.S. govt loans
DETROIT, Jan 15 (Reuters) - Fisker Automotive, a
venture-capital luxury electric carmaker, said on Friday it had raised
$115.3 million in new private equity funding to develop its Karma
plug-in hybrid and lower-cost electric vehicles.
The funding was needed for Fisker to access a $528.7
million low-cost loan from the U.S. government granted to the company
in September to help fund its expansion plans.
A123 Systems Inc <AONE.O>, which signed a deal
this week to supply lithium-ion battery packs for the Karma,
participated in the funding round, Fisker said.
Investors also include Silicon Valley-based Kleiner
Perkinds Caufield & Byers, one of the early investors of the
three-year-old startup, and Ace Investments.
"Raising $115 million in these times speaks volumes
about the value of our business model and the vast potential of plug-in
hybrids," Chief Executive Henrik Fisker said in a statement.
The Karma, a rechargeable luxury sports car scheduled
to go on sale in September, is designed to travel 50 miles on a single
charge. It will sell for $87,900 and be built in Finland by Valet
Automotive.
Fisker is also developing a second, lower-cost vehicle
under its "Project Nina", a rechargeable sedan that it expects to build
beginning in 2012 at a former GM factory in Delaware.
The Nina is expected to sell for $47,400 before a U.S. tax credit to consumers of $7,500.
(Reporting by Soyoung Kim; editing by Gunna Dickson)
