William B. Cassidy | Mar 08, 2011 5:04PM EST
Electric truck maker Smith Electric Vehicles U.S. raised $58 million in a series of stock sales. The proceeds will help the company pay for its acquisition of Smith Electric Vehicles UK.
The Kansas City, Kan.-based company produces the Newton, an all-electric medium-duty truck designed for use in stop-and-go delivery operations, most often in urban areas.
The U.S. operation originally was founded by the British company, which was owned by the Tanfield Group. Tanfield began making battery-powered electric vehicles in the 1920s.
Frank Rubino of New Deal Logistics, a distribution company in South Kearny, N.J., demonstrated a Smith Newton for The Journal of Commerce in New York City last July.
Smith Electric Vehicles acquired its British parent division in January, with most of the purchase cost deferred and rolled into to a series of monthly cash payments.
The U.S. truck maker will use $5 million from the proceeds of the $58 million stock sale as a prepayment for the British unit, creating a seven-month "payment holiday."
The remaining $53 million will be used for general corporate purchases and to help Smith Electric ramp up supply chain and manufacturing operations, the company said.
Last year the company received a $32 million grant from the Department of Energy to encourage the development of electric trucks.
In addition to New Deal Logistics, several companies and organizations are testing or using Smith's trucks, including Frito-Lay, Staples, AT&T, PG&E and the U.S. Marine Corps.
-- Contact William B. Cassidy at wcassidy@joc.com.