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It ’s tempting to think the trend of EV startups unite with special purpose accomplishment companies ( SPACs ) to go public has finish , seeing how many of them are struggling ordefunct . But that ’s not quite true . A startup calledThunder Power Holdingswent public on the Nasdaq interchange in June through a SPAC , and is now trying to raise up to $ 100 million more through ashare sales agreement trade .

All this is happening even as the CEO of the company , Wellen Sham , has been indicted by the Formosan governing on 11 condemnable charge .

It ’s all flop there in Thunder Power ’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission , which are required for all public companies . Thunder Power spell it out on page 46 of thisamended S-4 filingfrom April , where it explains that the Taipei District Prosecutor ’s Office brought burster against Sham in 2022 . The lawsuit is now before Taipei ’s District Court Criminal Division .

Sham is accused of a act of securities - related violations have-to doe with to Electric Power Technology Limited , another ship’s company where he ’s chairman . It has some connections to Thunder Power . Sham owns roughly 75 % of Thunder Power ’s stock post - merger , and Electric Powerholdssome of those shares . Sham is accuse of using Electric Power resource to pay for a “ seminar hosted by Thunder Power . ” He ’s also accused of giving “ instructions to put out a false press press release with the aim of disseminating hearsay or misleading selective information . ”

Thunder Power is , perhaps surprisingly , not a fresh company . It ’s been around in some form as far back as 2015 , when it showed up at the Frankfurt Motor Show and Sham toldTop Gear magazinethat the company was “ end up [ with ] the concept phase ” and had moved into the “ homologation operation . ”

Last year , though , in provision for the SPAC unification , Thunder Poweradmittedon page 31 of its initial S-4 filing that it “ has not create a individual electric fomite . ” That was still genuine in May of this year , concord toanotheramended S-4 filing . At that time , Thunder Power enounce the only vehicle that exist are prototypes ramp up by a Tonggao Advanced Manufacturing Technology ( Taicang ) Co. Ltd. , an affiliate establish in China . Thunder Power has turn a loss more than $ 35 million since its inception andsaysit has “ no tax revenue . ” It had just $ 921,349 in cash as of June 30 , 2024 .

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After pass away public in June , Thunder Powerstrucka fiscal deal with Westwood Capital Group LLC , a New York business firm that bill itself as an “ investiture bank fork out originative root to clients with complex financial pauperization . ”

The deal allows Thunder Power to betray up to around $ 100 million Charles Frederick Worth of shares to Westwood , which the firm can then turn around and sell on the open securities industry — similar to the many mountain that New Jersey - free-base Yorkville Advisorshas struck with EV startupsand other ship’s company that merge with SPACs . Westwood has already been paid with $ 1.5 million worth of Thunder Power percentage for entering into the agreement , though Thunder Power said in afilingthis week that it has not yet sold any more share to the business firm .

One caveat , however : Thunder Power ca n’t force Westwood to bribe additional shares if the portion damage is below $ 1 prior to February 20 , 2025 , or lower than $ 1.50 per share after that day of the month . in good order now , shares are trade at less than $ 0.50 .