MONTREAL, Dec. 19,
2024 /PRNewswire/ - 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 the Superior Court of Quebec (Commercial Division)
(the "Court") has issued an initial order (the "Initial
Order") granting the Company and its subsidiaries protection under
the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act ("CCAA"). Deloitte
Restructuring Inc. has been appointed pursuant to the initial CCAA
order as monitor of the Company (in such capacity, the "Monitor")
in order to assist the Company with its restructuring efforts and
to report to the Court. The Company and its subsidiaries also
intend to seek recognition of the CCAA proceedings in the United States under Chapter 15 of the
Bankruptcy Code.
The Court also issued an order approving a sale and investment
solicitation process in respect of the Company's business or assets
(the "SISP") in order to provide interested parties with the
opportunity to submit proposals, with a view to enable the Company
and its senior lenders to determine the highest and best available
transaction for the Company and its stakeholders. In addition,
the Initial Order provides for, among other things, a stay of
proceedings in favor of the Company and its subsidiaries, including
a stay of creditor claims and exercise of contractual rights, and
the approval of debtor-in-possession financing (the "DIP
Financing") provided by the lenders under the Company's syndicated
senior revolving credit agreement in order to fund the SISP and the
Company's operations during the restructuring process. The
continued availability of the DIP Financing is dependent upon
certain conditions being satisfied, including Court approval.
While under CCAA protection, management of the Company will
remain responsible for the day-to-day operations of the Company
under the oversight of the Monitor. Lion intends to continue
assisting its customers with the maintenance and servicing of
school buses and trucks.
A copy of the initial order granted by the Court will be
available, along with additional information respecting the CCAA
proceedings, on the Monitor's website. Readers are urged to consult
the full text of all of these documents for further, more detailed,
information. Further news releases will be provided during the CCAA
proceedings as required by law or otherwise as may be determined
necessary by the Company or the Court. Documents relating to the
restructuring process such as the initial order, the Monitor's
reports to the Court as well as other Court orders and documents
shall also be published and made available on the Monitor's website
at
https://www.insolvencies.deloitte.ca/en-ca/pages/Lion-Electric-Company.aspx.
Trading in the common shares and other listed securities of the
Company on the Toronto Stock Exchange ("TSX") and the New York
Stock Exchange (the "NYSE") has been suspended. The TSX has put the
Company under delisting review under its expedited review
process and the NYSE has commenced delisting proceedings against
the Company. It is anticipated that trading in the Company's listed
securities will continue to be suspended until completion of the
review and proceedings undertaken by the TSX and the NYSE.
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
CCAA proceedings and SISP, trading in the Company's common shares
and other listed securities, and 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.
