Lion Electric creditor protection extended to April amid search for buyer

EV company on life support

Photo: The Canadian Press

A court-appointed monitor says potential buyers and liquidators are interested in Quebec electric-vehicle maker Lion Electric Co. Lion Electric's lithium-ion battery manufacturing facility is shown in Mirabel, Que.

A court-appointed monitor says potential buyers and liquidators are interested in Quebec electric-vehicle maker Lion Electric Co.

A new report to the Quebec Superior Court says letters of intent were received earlier this month, but does not say how many.

The report says 169 potential investors were approached as part of creditor protection proceedings, as well as 15 parties who might be interested in liquidating the company’s assets.

Seven of those 15 have visited Lion Electric’s manufacturing sites in Canada and the United States, where the company built electric school buses and trucks.

Lion Electric obtained protection from its creditors in December and is seeking a buyer with a restructuring plan that would focus only on school buses and return all manufacturing to Quebec.

A Quebec Superior Court judge this morning agreed to extend the company’s creditor protection to April 4, while those bidding on the company must make their offers by March 7.