The investors in the troubled Swedish battery cell manufacturer Northvolt According to insiders, they are writing off their holdings. Volkswagen A person familiar with the process told the Reuters news agency on Monday that it continually checks its investments for their value over the course of the year. The Wolfsburg-based car manufacturer has already written down the book value of the investment significantly. “The current developments have no impact on VW’s annual results,” said a second insider.
A Volkswagen spokesman said the company had noted that Northvolt had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. There is no comment on the possible consequences for the Volkswagen Group.
Volkswagen holds a good fifth of Northvolt, making it the largest shareholder in the Swedish battery cell manufacturer. In the 2023 annual report, the value of the investment was put at 693 million euros – in 2022 it was more than 900 million euros.
Second largest shareholder writes off almost $900 million
After one Financial Times report
wants the second largest investor Goldman Sachs write down his investment to zero by the end of the year. The private equity funds managed by the major bank have a stake of at least $896 million in Northvolt. The losses are in stark contrast to the optimistic forecast made by one of Goldman’s funds just seven months ago. At the time, he told investors that his stake in Northvolt was worth 4.29 times the purchase price and that this value would increase to six times by next year.
Goldman now said in a statement: “While we are one of many investors disappointed with this result, this was a minority investment across highly diversified funds. Our portfolios have concentration limits to mitigate risks.”
The Swedish pension fund AMF also stated that it continuously evaluates its investments in unlisted companies and adjusts them accordingly if necessary. “It is obvious to everyone that Northvolt’s value is significantly lower than last year,” said a spokesman.
According to an insider, another major Northvolt investor has already written down his stake to zero.