Nikola failed for the second time since June to get sufficient shareholders to vote on a proposal that will enable the EV truck maker to challenge extra shares in a bid to boost extra capital.
The corporate mentioned Thursday it adjourned its annual assembly of shareholders till August 3 when it is going to attempt as soon as extra to draw sufficient shareholders to vote for the measure. The corporate is required to safe greater than 50% of all excellent shares to vote in favor of the proposal.
Nikola did not get sufficient votes at its June 7 assembly and pushed the vote to July 6.
This subsequent time might show fruitful for Nikola due to a change in Delaware legislation that’s anticipated to enter impact August 1. Beneath the change, corporations integrated in Delaware that wish to enhance the variety of shares would solely have to obtain a easy majority of the votes solid. Modification to the prevailing legislation has been permitted by Delaware’s state legislature and is now awaiting Gov. John Carney’s signature.
Nikola mentioned that had the brand new legislation been in place, its proposal to challenge extra shares would have handed.
Nikola is amongst a gaggle of EV and mobility startups that went public by way of mergers with particular objective acquisition corporations earlier than producing income, by no means thoughts being worthwhile. Many of those, notably Nikola, have been swept up within the meme inventory craze throughout the pandemic and noticed shares — and market cap — leap into the stratosphere. All of those shares have come crashing again right down to earth, leaving EV SPACs like Nikola scrambling for money.
Nikola has additionally sought methods to cut back prices. In Could, the corporate laid off 270 workers, or about 23% of its workforce, and introduced plans to limit electrical truck efforts to North America. About 150 staff who have been supporting the corporate’s European packages have been laid off. One other 120 workers primarily based on the firm’s Phoenix and Coolidge, Ariz., websites additionally misplaced their jobs. About 900 workers stay.