MONTREAL, Dec. 1, 2024
/CNW/ - The Lion Electric Company (NYSE: LEV) (TSX: LEV) ("Lion" or
the "Company"), a leading manufacturer of all-electric medium and
heavy-duty urban vehicles, announced today that it has entered into
additional amendments to (i) its senior revolving credit
agreement entered into with a syndicate of lenders represented by
National Bank of Canada, as
administrative agent and collateral agent, and including Bank of
Montreal and Federation des
Caisses Desjardins du Québec (the "Revolving Credit Agreement"),
and (ii) its loan agreement entered into with Finalta Capital
and Caisse de dépôt et placement du Quebec (the "Finalta CDPQ Loan Agreement"), in
order to extend the period applicable to the previously announced
suspension of the financial covenants under the Revolving Credit
Agreement from November 30, 2024, to December 16, 2024 and extend the maturity date
under the Finalta CDPQ Loan Agreement from November 30, 2024 to December 16, 2024.
In furtherance of the amendments, an additional advance will be
made under the Revolving Credit Agreement and the Company will be
permitted under the Finalta CDPQ Loan Agreement to use a limited
portion of the receivables to be received by the Company in order
to fund the Company's minimum liquidity needs until
December 16, 2024. Such additional liquidity will also provide
the Company with additional time to continue to actively evaluate
potential alternatives relating to a restructuring of its
obligations, a sale of the business or certain of its assets,
strategic investments and/or any other alternatives, including
seeking creditor protection under the Companies' Credit
Arrangement Act. There can be no assurance that the Company
will be successful in pursuing and implementing any such
alternatives, nor any assurance as to the outcome or timing of any
such alternatives.
The Company also announced a reduction of its workforce through
temporary layoffs of approximately 400 employees, in
both Canada and the United
States, across all departments within the organization.
Following this workforce reduction, Lion will have approximately
300 employees who will focus on the Company's bus manufacturing,
sales and delivery operations as well as assisting customers with
the servicing and maintenance of vehicles on the road. The
Company's manufacturing operations at its facility located in
Joliet, Illinois will also be
suspended as a result of this workforce reduction.
ABOUT LION ELECTRIC
Lion Electric is an innovative manufacturer
of zero-emission vehicles, including all electric school
buses. Lion is a North American leader in electric
transportation and designs, builds and assembles many of its
vehicles' components, including chassis, battery packs, truck
cabins and bus bodies.
Always actively seeking new and reliable technologies, Lion
vehicles have unique features that are specifically adapted to its
users and their everyday needs. Lion believes that transitioning to
all-electric vehicles will lead to major improvements in our
society, environment and overall quality of life. Lion shares are
traded on the New York Stock Exchange and the Toronto Stock
Exchange under the symbol LEV.
CAUTION REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This press release contains "forward-looking information" and
"forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable
securities laws and within the meaning of the United States Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (collectively,
"forward-looking statements"), including statements regarding the
amendments entered into by the Company, potential alternatives
relating to a restructuring of the Company's obligations, the
Company's evaluation of other potential alternatives, statements
about Lion's beliefs and expectations and other statements that are
not statements of historical facts. Forward-looking statements may
be identified by the use of words such as "believe," "may," "will,"
"continue," "anticipate," "intend," "expect," "should," "would,"
"could," "plan," "project," "potential," "seem," "seek," "future,"
"target" or other similar expressions and any other statements that
predict or indicate future events or trends or that are not
statements of historical matters, although not all forward-looking
statements may contain such identifying words. The forward-looking
statements contained in this press release are based on a number of
estimates and assumptions that Lion believes are reasonable when
made. Such estimates and assumptions are made by Lion in light of
the experience of management and their perception of historical
trends, current conditions and expected future developments, as
well as other factors believed to be appropriate and reasonable in
the circumstances. However, there can be no assurance that such
estimates and assumptions will prove to be correct. By their
nature, forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties
because they relate to events and depend on circumstances that may
or may not occur in the future. For additional information on
estimates, assumptions, risks and uncertainties underlying certain
of the forward-looking statements made in this press release,
please consult section 23.0 entitled "Risk Factors" of the
Company's annual management's discussion and analysis of financial
condition and results of operations (MD&A) for the fiscal year
2023 and in other documents filed with the applicable Canadian
regulatory securities authorities and the Securities and Exchange
Commission, including the Company's interim MD&As. Many of
these risks are beyond Lion's management's ability to control or
predict. All forward-looking statements attributable to Lion or
persons acting on its behalf are expressly qualified in their
entirety by the cautionary statements contained and risk factors
identified in the Company's annual MD&A for the fiscal year
2023 and in other documents filed with the applicable Canadian
regulatory securities authorities and the Securities and Exchange
Commission. Because of these risks, uncertainties and assumptions,
readers should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking
statements. Furthermore, forward-looking statements speak only as
of the date they are made. Except as required under applicable
securities laws, Lion undertakes no obligation, and expressly
disclaims any duty, to update, revise or review any forward-looking
information, whether as a result of new information, future events
or otherwise.
See section 2.0 of the Company's interim management's discussion
and analysis for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2024 (the "Interim MD&A"),
entitled "Basis of Presentation," section 15.0 of the Company's
Interim MD&A entitled "Liquidity and Capital Resources," and
note 2 of the Company's unaudited condensed interim consolidated
financial statements as at September 30,
2024 and for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2024 and 2023 which indicate the
existence of material uncertainty that may cast significant doubt
on the Company's ability to continue as a going concern.
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SOURCE The Lion Electric Co.