Cash-Strapped Fisker Aims to Raise $150 Million

Fisker Automotive Inc. is seeking $150 million of fresh capital to finance daily operations and the development of its Atlantic plug-in hybrid sedan, Reuters reports.

Ray Lane, a Fisker director and major investor, tells the news service, "We need money on our balance sheet."

The company has raised more than $400 million in venture capital in the past 12 months and more than a billion since its founding in 2007 to fund the capital-intensive process of developing, manufacturing and marketing two extended-range hybrids. Lane says Fisker might need to seek an additional unspecified capital infusion next year.

One reason for the cash crunch is the U.S. Dept. of Energy decision in February to freeze a $529 million loan to the company. The DOE said Fisker missed milestones in development of the Atlantic and sales of its flagship $109,000 Karma sedan.

The company isn't planning to raise money through an initial public stock offering, according to Lane, who is managing director of venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers LLC, a key Fisker backer. He says an IPO or sale to a private buyer won't happen until the company becomes profitable, which isn't likely until late next year.