Lion Electric owes $11M to a mysterious Saudi investor

Insolvent since last month, Lion Électrique owes $11 million to a mysterious Saudi investor, noted The Journal.

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Vision SH Investment is one of 10 secured creditors to whom Lion owes nearly $215 million in total, we learn in a document filed in Superior Court.

The Riyadh-based investment firm is controlled by Zaki AlShowaier, a Saudi businessman who sits on the boards of several companies in the kingdom.

Mr. AlShowaier is a long-time partner of Montreal investor Vincent Chiara, with whom he purchased several real estate properties in Quebec and Ontario.

$90M loan

Last year, a group of investors led by Mr. Chiara’s Mach Group and the Mirella and Lino Saputo Foundation lent Lion $90 million at an interest rate of 11%.

The identity of the other investors was not known until recently. These are Vision SH and Luc Sabbatini, former president of Bixi’s parent company.

«Ils [Vision SH] have a local team who evaluated the file [de Lion] as we did and they decided to participate in the investment”, indicated Vincent Chiara to Journal.

Last month, Lion repaid $50 million of the $90 million loan by selling its Mirabel innovation center to Aéroports de Montréal. The company still owes $26.4 million to the Saputo Foundation, $11 million to Vision SH, $7.9 million to Mach and $2.6 million to Mr. Sabbatini (including interest).

Lion’s other major creditors are National Bank ($46.8 million), Desjardins Group ($38.1 million), Bank of Montreal ($32.2 million), Investissement Québec ($27.3 million) , Finalta ($11.3 million) and Caisse de dépôt ($11.3 million).

– With Philippe Langlois, QMI Agency