[Wimbledon]

http://blogs.edmunds.com/greencaradvisor/2010/05/breaking-fisker-adds-189-million-to-growing-capital-base-with-new-funding.html

Fisker Automotive welcomed the long Memorial Day weekend with word late this evening that it has just closed a $189 million private equity funding round - bringing its private capital base, by our count, to at least $339 million since its inception three years ago.

The new funds, which add $74 million to a $115 million commitment the company announced in January, will be sufficient to trigger a $528.7 million federal loan guarantee Fisker plans to use to help acquire a former GM assembly plant in Delaware, develop its upcoming "Project Nina" line of family oriented plug-in hybrids and complete development work on the $88,000 Fisker Karma (right) extended-range plug-in hybrid sport sedan that has been in progress for several years.

The Karma, now slated to go on sale early next year, initially will be built under contract in Finland but was engineered and designed at Fisker's Southern California headquarters, the company says, insisting that federal funding will be used to pay only for U.S. development efforts on both the Karma and Project Nina cars.

Fisker did not identify investors in the financing round that closed today, and a spokesman said no company officials would be available for comment over the holiday weekend.

Previous investors have included the renowned green energy investment firms Palo Alto Investors and Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, lithium-ion battery maker A123Systems, a unit of the Qatar Investment Authority - an arm of the oil rich state of Qatar - and a low-key European-American investment firm known as Eco-Drive Investment Partners.

John O'Dell, Senior Editor

 

[Wimbledon]

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSN2920243820100529

Fisker raises equity, says to launch car soon

* Closed $529 million loan with U.S. Energy Dept in April

* Plans second, lower-cost rechargeable sedan for 2012

LOS ANGELES, May 29 (Reuters) - Fisker Automotive said on Saturday it has raised $35 million of private equity to close a $189 million funding round that will allow the company to launch its plug-in hybrid electric car.

The total includes the $115 million Fisker said it had secured in January, when it cleared a key financing hurdle to draw on U.S. government loans.

The administration of President Barack Obama has awarded billions in grants and other financing for U.S. companies to develop next-generation battery technology.

The California-based start-up closed a $529 million U.S. Energy Department loan in April.

The Karma, Fisker's plug-in hybrid electric vehicle, is a rechargeable sports car, scheduled to start production this year. It is designed to travel 50 miles (80 km) on a single charge, and has a gasoline generator that extends the range an additional 250 miles (400 km).

The car, which will sell for around $87,900, will be built in Finland by Valmet Automotive.

Fisker has previously said its investors include: A123 Systems Inc (AONE.O), which has signed a deal to supply lithium-ion battery packs to Fisker, Silicon Valley-based Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, and Ace Investments.

Fisker is also developing a second, lower-cost rechargeable vehicle it expects to start building in 2012. That sedan is expected to sell for some $47,400 before a U.S. tax credit to consumers of $7,500. (Reporting by Dana Ford; Editing by Eric Walsh)