Industry dynamics

Nio announces closing of investment from Abu Dhabi fund

Publishtime:1970-01-01 08:00:00 Views:31

Nio and the CYVN entities will work together on strategic collaborations in international business and technology partnerships, the EV maker said.

(Image credit: CnEVPost)

Nio (NYSE: NIO) closed an investment from an Abu Dhabi government fund after the deal was announced about a month ago.

Nio today announced that it has closed the $738.5 million strategic equity investment from CYVN Investments RSC Ltd, an affiliate of CYVN Holdings, according to a statement.

CYVN Holdings is an investment vehicle majority-owned by the government of Abu Dhabi with a strategic focus on advanced and intelligent transportation, the statement said.

The CYVN entities also acquired certain class A ordinary shares of Nio from an affiliate of Tencent for total consideration of $350 million, the statement said.

Following the completion of the investment transaction and the secondary share transfer, CYVN Investments owns a total of about 7.0 percent of Nio's total outstanding shares.

Going forward, Nio and the CYVN entities will work together to strategically collaborate on international business and technology cooperation, the statement said.

On June 20, Nio entered into a share subscription agreement with CYVN Holdings, which plans to invest a total of about $1.1 billion in the Chinese electric vehicle (EV) maker through the issuance of additional new shares and the transfer of existing shares.

CYVN Holdings has agreed not to sell, transfer or dispose of any shares acquired in the investment deal for six months after closing, according to the previous statement from Nio.

Following the closing of the investment deal, CYVN Holdings will have the right to nominate a director to join Nio's board of directors for as long as it continues to beneficially own not less than 5 percent of the company's issued share capital, Nio said last month.

The partnership, which took just three weeks from discussion to signing the agreement, demonstrates Abu Dhabi's commitment to investing in technological innovation and clean energy transformation, and ultra-efficiency in decision-making and execution, William Li, Nio's founder, chairman, and CEO, said in a June 20 post on the Nio App.

They have a vision and execution that is highly aligned with Nio's vision, action philosophy, Li said.

The move comes at a time when Chinese EV companies are looking more toward the Middle East.

On July 10, Nio's local counterparts Xpeng (NYSE: XPEV) and Zeekr both announced partnerships with local dealers to enter the Israeli market.

BREAKING: NIO secures $1.1 billion investment from Abu Dhabi fund