Electric Last Mile Solutions initiates bankruptcy proceedings

(Reuters) – Electric Last Mile Solutions said in a filing on Tuesday the U.S. commercial electric vehicle startup had commenced bankruptcy proceedings and blamed a lack of funding for the decision.

The company said on Sunday investigations by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and an internal committee into the share purchases of former CEO Jim Taylor and Chairman Jason Luo leading to their resignation made it “extremely challenging” to secure funding.

The Troy, Michigan-based company, which ceased all operations on Tuesday, said it received a notice from Nasdaq on Monday regarding the delisting of its shares and expects trading of its stock to be suspended on June 23.

The company went public last year June through a merger with blank-check firm Forum Merger III Corp.

Electric Last Mile said earlier this week it was planning to file for Chapter 7 bankruptcy after a review of its products and commercialization plants.

(Reporting by Akash Sriram in Bengaluru; Editing by Shinjini Ganguli)