Sweden

Northvolt is in talks with investors and lenders to secure about 200 million euros ($218 million) in short-term funding, as the Swedish maker of batteries for electric vehicles seeks to stabilise its finances, Reuters reported. The talks have been taking place this week, one of the sources said, adding that the company still aims to raise a larger amount of capital for the long-term. On Friday, Northvolt repeated a statement from Sept. 24 that said it had made significant progress in recent weeks in its effort to raise cash.

Sweden’s National Debt Office has ruled out activating $1.5 billion in credit guarantees for Northvolt AB that were tied to a now-halted expansion of the battery manufacturer’s main factory, Bloomberg News reported. Northvolt suspended the build-out at its plant in northern Sweden last month as it sought to streamline operations and contend with a cash crunch. The troubled electric-vehicle supplier never drew the guaranteed funds, and this week put the unit managing the project at Skelleftea, near the Arctic Circle, into bankruptcy.

A subsidiary of corpdSweden's Northvolt filed for bankruptcy on Tuesday after the project it was developing was cancelled, court filings showed, while the rest of the cash-strapped battery making group continued to consolidate operations, Reuters reported. The Northvolt Ett Expansion AB unit had debts estimated at between 2 billion and 3 billion Swedish crowns ($194 million and $290 million), a court-appointed bankruptcy trustee told business daily Dagens Industri.

Swedish landlord SBB plans to sell as much as 4 billion Swedish kronor ($390 million) worth of stock in its residential unit in an effort to shore up its balance sheet, Bloomberg News reported. The company plans to offer a maximum of 88 million shares in Sveafastigheter AB in a contemplated initial public offering, with pricing estimated in the range of 39.5 kronor to 45.5 kronor each, according to a statement on Monday. That corresponds to 44% of the total number of shares in the residential unit, which is slightly less than its previous guidance.

More than 700 Swedish companies went bankrupt in September, with real estate companies among the hardest hit, according to data from credit reference agency Creditsafe, Bloomberg News reported. The 17% increase from last year is a sharp turn for the worse, following a 3% annual decrease in August. Property owners had another rough month, as bankruptcies in the sector more than doubled. While hopes have increased about an economic recovery in Sweden as the central bank has reduced borrowing costs, an uptick in sentiment has yet to translate into rising activity.

Sweden’s central bank cut its key interest rate for the third time this year and said borrowing costs will likely be lowered again soon as a faltering economy threatens to push inflation further below its target, the Wall Street Journal reported. The Riksbank cut its key rate to 3.25% from 3.5%, in line with a poll of economists conducted by The Wall Street Journal ahead of the decision. “If the outlook for inflation and economic activity remains unchanged, the policy rate may also be cut at the two remaining monetary policy meetings this year,” the Riksbank said.

Sweden’s Northvolt AB will shed 20% of its global workforce and pause its expansion plans to slow cash outflows as the battery-making firm confronts a burgeoning financial crisis, Bloomberg News reported. The company, which has struggled in its mission to stand up a home-grown supply of electric-vehicle batteries in Europe, said it will reduce its Swedish workforce by 1,600 positions as part of a strategic review that was announced this month. The money-saving move comes as Northvolt continues to negotiate a new financing pact with its creditors and investors.

Lenders to Northvolt AB have selected investment bank PJT Partners to help advise on options as a cash crunch deepens at the troubled maker of electric-car batteries, Bloomberg News reported. While there are no restructuring talks under way, PJT will work alongside law firm Milbank LLP, which was already a lender adviser, the people said, asking not to be named discussing private information. Creditors are preparing for a range of scenarios at the Swedish manufacturer.

The number of bankruptcies in Sweden declined on year last month, for the first time since July 2022, according to data from credit reference agency Creditsafe, Bloomberg News reported. The 3% drop in defaults in August comes as falling borrowing costs have helped fuel optimism about an economic recovery in the Nordic region’s largest country.

Swedish group Holmbergs Safety Systems, controlled by investment fund FSN Capital – a major investment firm in northern Europe, has filed a request for the insolvency of its subsidiary in Romania, which it set up in 2020 by taking over Te Rox Prod from local entrepreneur Doina Cepalis with plans to turn it into a major production hub from where the products will reach the markets of Europe, the US, and Asia, Romania-Insider.com reported.