$40 million worth of fresh air for the taiga

In a press release, Taiga management explained that this amount will be invested, respectively, by Northern Private Capital (NPC), up to $25.15 million, and Investissement Québec (IQ), which will provide $15 million.

The investments will be made in the form of bonds that can be transferred by Characters And I.Q into ordinary shares by March 31, 2028, if they wish to convert their investment into an ownership stake in the company. Additional investment options of $5 million and $2.5 million were also granted under the same terms, respectively Characters And I.Q.

Four seats in turn

But that’s not all: in exchange for these $40 million, the young company also gives up control of four seats on its board of directors.

Taiga agreed, as soon as possible, […] To reconstitute its board of directors and to grant a seat to a member to be appointed I.QTwo seats for representatives of the National People’s Congress and one seat for an independent member nominated by him CharactersThe company said in a statement.

Founded in 2015 by three mechanical and electrical engineering students from McGill University, Taiga designs and produces fully electric snowmobiles and watercraft in its Montreal factory.

Having benefited from several tens of millions of dollars in financial commitments from governments — notably to build a new plant in Morrissey — Taiga has faced its share of difficulties in recent years due to turmoil in the chain in particular. Supply and availability of parts.

The young, growing company has seen its cash melt in recent months. If, in the summer of 2022, Taiga can count on more than $52.4 million in cash, as of December 31, 2022, the company has only $22.8 million left in its coffers. At the end of February, there were only 8.3 million left.

Thus, this new $40 million in cash is just in time for Samuel Bruno, CEO and co-founder of Taiga, who is showing great confidence in the commercial potential of his products.

” These funds will help us achieve our vision and allow us to invest in accelerating our production, protecting our supply chain and maintaining our operations as we build the next generation of electric all-terrain vehicles. »

The Taiga Nomad snowmobile and Orca watercraft have proven popular with our customers, and the innovative technology behind them has earned them many prestigious awards in their first year of production. Great opportunities are available to ushe points to.

Despite the enthusiasm for electric vehicles, cautious Taiga management has held back its expansion projects to protect its capital, notably by delaying the opening of its new factory in Shawinigan, Morrissey.

Finally, the project, which was scheduled to see the light in 2022, has been pushed back to 2023, with the aim of production in 2024.

The new Taiga factory is scheduled to open in 2023 in Shawinigan.

Photo: Taiga

Note that Taiga has secured financial commitments of approximately $50 million from the Federal Government, the Government of Quebec, and the City of Shawinigan for this project.

The manufacturer currently operates a plant in Montreal with a production capacity of 8,000 vehicles. The second plant he plans to build in Shawinigan should bring the company’s total production capacity to 70,000 vehicles.

For now, production remains more modest. Last November, Taiga estimated that it would be able to deliver 2,500 to 3,500 vehicles in 2023, explaining that production plans were held up in 2022 by component availability issues. However, the company estimated that it will be able to increase the pace of production by the end of the year.