SAN FRANCISCO/DETORIT (Reuters) - The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has asked Lordstown Motors Corp for information related to its merger with blank-check company DiamondPeak Holdings and preorders of its vehicles, the electric pickup truck maker said on Thursday.
“The Company is responding to the SEC’s requests and intends to cooperate with its inquiry,” Lordstown said in an SEC filing.
Lordstown Chief Executive Steve Burns earlier this month said the company had received the SEC request for information with regard to accusations by investment firm Hindenburg Research, but did not disclose details.
Hindenburg said it had taken a short position in Lordstown Motors, accusing the company of using “fake” orders to raise capital and claiming that its upcoming truck is three to four years away from production.
The U.S. securities regulator has opened an inquiry into Wall Street’s blank-check acquisition frenzy, and is seeking information on how underwriters are managing the risks involved, said four people with direct knowledge of the matter.
A flurry of electric vehicle makers have went public via mergers with so-called special purpose acquisition companies, bypassing the rigorous scrutiny of a traditional initial public offering (IPO) process and riding on Tesla Inc’s share price rally.
Reporting by Hyunjoo Jin and Ben Klayman; editing by Jonathan Oatis
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