Two of the big players in the emerging advanced air mobility sector have announced fresh financial backing against the backdrop of a tight fund-raising environment and the insolvency proceedings at one of their rivals.
Burlington, Vermont-based Beta Technologies on 31 October disclosed that it had raised $318 million as part of its Series C funding round, a move that came just 24h after Embraer-backed Eve revealed a new $50 million loan from Citigroup.
Beta says the latest financing round was led by Qatar Investment Authority – the Gulf state’s sovereign wealth fund – and included existing investors Fidelity Management & Research and TPG Rise Climate. Long-time customer United Therapeutics also joined the round as an investor.
Additionally, it says shares in the company were “priced at an increased valuation” compared with previous rounds and “was meaningfully oversubscribed”.
To date, Beta has raised more than $1 billion in equity capital, it says.
Beta is developing two versions of its Alia electric-powered aircraft – the vertical take-off and landing A250 and conventional take-off CX300. Passenger and cargo variants of both are envisaged.
The new funding will be “used to propel the certification” of both models and “support the continued ramp-up of production and delivery” of aircraft and charging systems to customers.
Meanwhile, Eve says the $50 million Citibank loan, with an interest rate of 3.9%, will be used to strengthen its balance sheet and “support the company’s aircraft research and development programme”.
Repayment of $25 million of the loan is due by 29 October 2027, with the balance due to be settled a year later, stock market filings show.
Eve at the start of July announced a $95.6 million equity raise and on 15 October secured a $88 million line of credit from the Brazilian National Development Bank to fund a production facility in Taubate in the state of Sao Paulo.
Based on figures disclosed at the end of the second quarter on 30 June, pro-forma liquidity now stands at $480 million.
The success of Beta and Eve in raising fresh finance stands in stark contrast to Lilium which has been forced to initiate self-administration insolvency proceedings at its two main German subsidiaries after running out of cash.
It had been counting on a €100 million ($108 million) loan from the country’s KfW development bank guaranteed by the federal government and the state of Bavaria.
