Ener1 Boosts Capital

Ener1, the company which will likely become an important player on the electric vehicle market, announced over the weekend an increase in capital of some $65 million by selling $55 million of senior unsecured notes, together with shares of common stock and warrants, to certain investment funds.

The stock will be sold to several investment groups, led by Goldman Sachs Asset Management. An extra $10 million will be generated by selling senior convertible notes to the ITOCHU Corporation, a long time partner of Ener1.

According to the company, the funds thus generated will be used to cover general operating expenditures and, with the help of some more money coming from the United States Department of Energy, under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, install production lines for 11,000 EV battery packs at the three manufacturing facilities it operates in Indianapolis.

"Ener1 has heavily invested in expanding its global manufacturing operations in response to the anticipated demand from the grid energy storage, transportation and small cell markets, allowing us to meet our growth objectives," said Charles Gassenheimer, Ener1 CEO.

"We are appreciative of the vote of confidence that our shareholders have placed in Ener1's management team to execute its business plan," the CEO added.

The company plans to complete the sale this week. Later this September, its executives will go out looking for more money at investor conferences like Credit Suisse Automotive and Transportation Conference, the Cowen Clean Energy Forum, the Wedbush Clean Technology and Industrial Growth Conference, the Deutsche Bank Technology Conference and the Paris Auto Show.