Rivian to issue up to US$15 billion of debt for Georgia plant
ELECTRIC vehicle (EV) maker Rivian Automotive plans to borrow as much as US$15 billion of taxable bonds to help finance a manufacturing plant in Georgia.
The bonds will be issued through the Joint Development Authority of Jasper, Morgan, Newton & Walton Counties, a municipal agency, according to a Nov 9 agreement, disclosed in a securities filing. The bonds will be backed by rental payments made by Rivian as part of an incentive package to woo the carmaker.
Rivian will purchase the bonds as they are issued, according to the filing. A representative for Rivian did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Rivian is due to start construction on the plant near Atlanta, Georgia early next year, having announced the site as its second factory at the end of 2021. The EV-maker has pledged to invest US$5 billion in the plant and employ more than 7,500 as the factory ramps up to a maximum capacity of 400,000 vehicles annually.
Currently, Rivian builds two consumer models and a battery-electric delivery van at a sole plant in Illinois.
The project has been met with political opposition while the EV-maker has secured US$1.5 billion in both state and local incentives to support the project. The incentives package was the biggest in state history. The package includes tax credits, abatements and subsidies. In July, the Supreme Court of Georgia declined to hear an appeal filed by local residents who opposed the bond package.
Rivian will make a minimum of US$300 million in payments in lieu of property taxes to the counties’ Joint Development Authority till 2047, according to the securities filing. The payments will grow if the company exceeds its US$5 billion investment. BLOOMBERG
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