Smith Electric Vehicles Files For $125 Million IPO

Smith Electric Vehicles Corp. on November 10 filed for a $125 million initial public offering (IPO) of its common stock. The company makes electrically powered commercial vehicles, used as delivery trucks in several industries. They're meant as an alternative to diesel trucks used in commercial fleets.

In its filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Smith did not say how many shares it would sell, how much it would sell them for or when it planned to go public. The company said it will use the funds raised to pay down debt and for general corporate purposes. It will not receive any of the money raised by shareholders if they sell stock in the IPO.

Smith said the shares will be sold both by the company and some of its shareholders. UBS Investment Bank and BofA Merrill Lynch are underwriting the offering. The company has manufacturing facilities in Kansas City, MO, where it's based, and in the U.K.

In 2010, the company posted a loss of $30.3 million on $35.6 million in revenue. It says it's never been profitable, posting net losses in every quarter since its inception.

Smith was formed in January 2009, and its senior management team has been in place only six months. In 2011, the U.S. company purchased the U.K. zero-emissions vehicle business, which has operated in Europe since the 1920s.

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