Ford Motor Company is selling 8 million of its shares in startup electric truck maker Rivian. And while that sounds like a massive amount, Ford still has another 102 million shares in Rivian, which it bought when the vehicle company went public. The legally-binding insider lock up for the Rivian stock expired on Sunday, ending the period that required early investors to hold on to their shares. Other major investors in Rivian include T. Rowe Price, Amazon, and George Soros.
According to CNBC, the shares will be sold through Goldman Sachs, while JP Morgan Chase will also plan to sell between 13 million and 15 million shares for an unknown seller. At current value, Ford’s sharers will be worth slightly more than 215 million dollars, all the bank’s is worth between $349 and $403.5 million USD.
Rivian initially planned to produce 50,000 electric trucks and SUVs in 2022, but supply chain issues and a pricing PR misstep meant that that number dropped to 25,000, according to a statement from the brand. The disappointment has caused investors to pull out. The stock is currently priced at $22.78 USD a share at the time of this writing, which is currently after-hours trading.
The electric autommaker’s value skyrocketed when it debuted on the stock market, with shares touching $179 USD, but has now dropped significantly due to the news of the sale. Ford CEO Jim Farley has previously said that this investment was strategic, and that it is awkward to invest in another American company that makes electric pickup trucks.
Despite this massive dip in valuation, Rivian has several future products in the pipeline. This includes the rollout of the upcoming “R2” electric vehicle family, which promises lower production costs that will be passed onto the consumer for what hopes to be lower priced vehicles in the not-too-distant future. Rivian is also tasked with fulfilling an order of all-electric Amazon delivery vans, and is currently building a second factory in the state of Georgia. So don’t count out the promising automaker just yet.
Image via Rivian.
