In a liquidity crisis and as questions about its Quebec project multiply, Northvolt is recruiting a firm specializing in restructuring advice – Teneo – to turn over every stone in the hope of saving the furniture, Northvolt was able to confirm The Press.
The arrival of this firm comes at a time when the young Swedish company is desperately seeking financing to keep its head above water. This information was first leaked by the New York agency Bloomberg.
After pulling the plug on a major project in Sweden and refocusing its activities on a market segment – the manufacture of battery cells – in order to reduce its expenses, Northvolt went further on Monday by announcing the layoff of 1,600 people.
According to our information, Teneo will support the Swedish manufacturer in preparing its own scenarios to propose to its creditors – among which we find the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ).
Public money in Northvolt so far
- 240 million: Government loan (Quebec) for the purchase of land in Montérégie
- 270 million: Quebec takes stake in Northvolt
- 200 million: Loan from the Quebec Deposit and Investment Fund
Meanwhile, the company’s lenders are weighing their options. Last week, they hired a New York investment bank, PJT Partners, to provide them with turnaround scenarios.
Estimated at 7 billion, the mega-factory planned by Northvolt in Montérégie is counting on the production of cathodes (the positive pole of a lithium-ion battery), the manufacture of battery cells and recycling. The Press has already revealed that the commissioning, scheduled for 2027, would be delayed.
More details to come.
Learn more
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- 2.74 billion
- Amount offered by Quebec and Ottawa to finance the construction of the Quebec Northvolt complex.
GOVERNMENTS OF QUEBEC AND CANADA