Chinese EV maker Nio raises more than $700 million in capital injection from Abu Dhabi

BEIJING — Chinese electric car company Nio announced Tuesday it received $738.5 million in new capital from a fund owned by the Abu Dhabi government.

The strategic investment ultimately gives the fund, CYVN Holdings, a 7% stake in Nio.

The deal was priced at $8.72 a share, a release said. That’s 6.7% below where Nio’s U.S.-listed shares closed Tuesday, down by about half a percent.

Nio earlier this month said lackluster car deliveries was affecting cash flow, and that it was delaying capital expenditure and some research and development projects.

The company said then it had enough cash to support its business. Nio disclosed cash and cash equivalents of 14.76 billion yuan ($2.07 billion) as of March, below what it disclosed for the end of 2021 and 2022.

At the end of 2019, the electric car company’s cash and cash equivalents had fallen below $1 billion. But Nio made a comeback in 2020 after receiving about $1 billion from investors, including state-backed entities.

In the last several months, Middle East investors have increasingly looked for opportunities in China, especially in electric cars.

China-based funds have also looked to Middle East capital as investors from the U.S. and other regions turned cautious on China amid regulatory uncertainty.

Nio said it expects the deal with the Abu Dhabi fund to close in early July, after which they plan to “pursue opportunities in Nio’s international business.”

The agreement also gives CYVN the right to nominate a director to Nio’s board, the announcement said.