SHANGHAI, April 30 (Reuters) – Chinese electric vehicle developer Faraday Future said on Tuesday that it had obtained up to $225 million in bridge financing from a U.S. merchant bank to allow it to complete the development of its flagship FF91 model.
Faraday, which has ambitions to overtake Tesla Inc, said in November that it was exploring strategic options, including debt and equity financing, amid a legal fight with Evergrande Health Industry Group Ltd which has since ended.
The company said in a statement on its website that it had signed the agreement with Birch Lake Associates, with parts of the financing also set to be used to pay around 60 percent of the suppliers to which it owes money.
The company also said it had launched a $1.25 billion equity capital-raising programme with Stifel Nicolaus & Co as advisor.
Faraday Future was founded by Chinese entrepreneur Jia Yueting, who is currently also its chief executive. (Reporting by Brenda Goh; Additional Reporting by Clare Jim in HONG KONG; Editing by Joseph Radford)