Lucid To Acquire Facilities, Assets Previously Belonging To Bankrupt Truck Maker Nikola: Retail Gets More Bullish

Shares of EV maker Lucid Group, Inc. (LCID) were in the spotlight on Friday after the company announced that it will acquire select facilities and assets in Arizona previously belonging to bankrupt EV truck maker Nikola Corporation.

Lucid said it reached an agreement following Nikola’s bankruptcy auction, subject to approval by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware.

The company added that the transaction does not include the acquisition of business, customer base, or technology related to Nikola's hydrogen fuel cell electric trucks. However, Lucid plans to employ over 300 former Nikola employees across its Arizona facilities.

Lucid will take over Nikola's former Coolidge manufacturing facility and the Phoenix facility, which was previously Nikola's headquarters and product development center.

Lucid said these buildings comprise manufacturing and warehousing space, development equipment with extensive battery and environmental testing chambers, a full-size chassis dynamometer, machining equipment, and more.

Lucid’s interim CEO Marc Winterhoff said the acquisition of the assets helps the company expand its facilities as it continues the production ramp of the Gravity SUV and prepares to launch its upcoming midsize platform vehicles.

Nikola filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in February and said it intends to pursue an auction and sale process. T

The company used to make hydrogen and battery-powered trucks but faced increased cash burn and funding challenges, in addition to safety concerns pertaining to its battery electric trucks.

On Stocktwits, retail sentiment around Lucid rose by three points in the ‘bullish’ territory over the past 24 hours while message volume remained at ‘high’ levels.

LCID stock is down by nearly 15% year-to-date but up by nearly 3% over the past 12 months.

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