Lidar’s Liminar Luminar reached an agreement with Yorkville Advisors Global and an anonymous investor who could bring another $ 200 million to his funds through the sale of convertible preferred shares for a period of 18 months. The agreement, which was announced in regulatory deposit Wednesday, there is a sharp change in leadership and redundancies.
Earlier this month, the Luminar Board of Directors replaced Austin Russell as the Managing Director and Chairman of the Board of Directors. The Luminar Board of Directors appointed Paul Ricci in the role. Ricci is the former president and CEO of Nuance. The company also started another round of layoffs – its third since spring 2024.
According to the terms, Luminar will issue $ 35 million in convertible privileged stock to investors. Luminar can issue additional installments of up to $ 35 million no more than every 60 days at a purchase price equal to 96% of the declared value of the convertible preferred share capital. However, Luminar has no obligation to issue an additional stock.
“Today’s transaction provides us with additional financial flexibility and further strengthens our balance sheet,” Luminar Cfo Fennimore said in a statement. “We have made significant progress in the expansion of our liquidity corridor with our restructuring efforts and the additional chapter that has us as part of this installation provides us with another tool to make our long -term value.”
The company said revenue from the original $ 35 million version is expected to be used for general corporate purposes and debt retirement.
Yorkville has offered these live lines to other competitors negotiating the public, a list that includes failed Motors Lordstown, Faraday Future and the now bankrupt Canoo.
Luminar was founded by Russell in 2012 when he was just a teenager. Luminar and Russell became Silicon Valley’s Darlings, when Lidar launched the coverage in April 2017, having been in secret for years and at the height of the autonomous vehicles.
In 2021, Luminar merged with special purpose acquisition company Gores Metropoulos Inc., with market assessment after the provision of $ 3.4 billion. Today, Luminar has a maximum of $ 179 million. Luminar raised $ 250 million before the SPAC announcement.
Luminar had some wins, but he has also restructured several times. Luminar cut about 30% of its workforce in 2024 through two rounds of layoffs. Some of these layoffs were poured in the first quarter of 2025. A total of 212 employees were fired.
In a regulatory deposit earlier this month, the company said it began additional redundancies on May 15. These new redundancies are expected to cost $ 4 million to $ 5 million in cash. These expenses are expected to take place in the second and third quarters of this year.
