Lordstown Motors No Longer As Nu Ride Hits The Road

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – A completely restructured company has emerged from the remains of former electric car maker Lordstown Motors Corp., with the majority shareholder’s interests intact.

Nu Ride Inc., formerly known as Lordstown Motors Corp., announced Thursday that it has emerged from bankruptcy and its stock is being reissued under a new ticker symbol – NRDE – on the OTC Pink Market, according to a regulatory filing.

The new company is essentially a shell corporation that would allow it to merge with or acquire other businesses, according to the website. Nu Ride reports that it has emerged from bankruptcy with $78 million in cash and $1 billion in gross operating losses and various causes of action.

It’s unclear what kind of project Nu Ride, now based in New York, will pursue.

Additionally, the bankruptcy exit plan recently approved by Judge Mary F. Walrath of the United States Bankruptcy Court in Delaware preserves Foxconn’s stake in the new company.

Foxconn, the Taiwanese technology giant that two years ago entered into a manufacturing contract with Lordstown Motors, is now locked in a lawsuit with the former electric car maker. Last year, Lordstown Motors filed a lawsuit against Foxconn — the same day it filed for Chapter 11 protection — alleging breach of contract. Foxconn has filed a petition in US Bankruptcy Court to have the complaint dismissed.

Nu Ride will be led by a new line of executives and directors, according to filings with the US Securities and Exchange Commission.

The employment of three Lordstown Motors executives – Daniel Ninivaggi, Edward Hightower and Adam Kroll – would be terminated, and all would receive severance payments previously approved by the US Bankruptcy Court.

Under the plan, former executive chairman Ninivaggi would receive $550,000; former president and CEO Hightower would receive $975,276; and Kroll, a former chief executive of Lordstown Motors, would receive a $685,000 cut, the March 14 filing said.

William Gallagher is now the new CEO of Nu Ride Inc., the filing said.

Also, the plan calls for the appointment of a new board of directors. Ninivaggi, Hightower, Joseph B. Anderson Jr., Keith Feldman, David T. Hamamoto, Jane Reiss, Laura J. Soave, Dale Spencer and Angela Strand no longer serve as directors of the company.

The new board consists of Alexander C. Matina, Andrew L. Sole, Michael J. Wartell, Neil Werner and Alexandre Zyngier, according to SEC filings.

The US Bankruptcy Court in Delaware confirmed Lordstown Motors’ exit plan on March 5.

The complex case resulted in Lordstown Motors settling many of its obligations to its major creditors and settling many of the shareholder lawsuits brought against the company.

Last year, Lordstown Motors sold its assets to its former CEO, Steve Burns, and his LAS Capital, for $10.2 million. Burns has started a new project, LandX.

Burns resigned as CEO of Lordstown in June 2021 after an internal investigation found that the company and management had made false statements regarding pre-orders for the company’s supercar, the Endurance.

In February, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission sued Lordstown Motors for misleading investors about pre-orders for the car and reached a $25.5 million settlement with the company.

The investigation is still ongoing, including a US Department of Justice investigation into the matter.

Copyright 2024 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.