Rivian Automotive Inc (NASDAQ:RIVN) continued its descent overnight on reports that Ford has dumped a substantial chunk of its 12% stake in the electric car maker.
Ford signed up to a lock-up ahead of Rivian’s IPO that precluded any sales for 180 days, but that expired on Sunday and CNBC said the car giant had jettisoned a major part of its 8mln shares.
Ford wrote down its stake in Rivian by US$5.5bn in March (to US$5.12bn), sending the motor group to a loss overall of US$3.1bn in the first three months of 2022.
Amazon, which has an even bigger stake than Ford at 18%, has also taken a big write-down on its investment, lopping it down by US$7.6bn in its first quarter.
Overnight, shares in Rivian fell by 21% to US$22.78, which compares to a float price of US$78 last November and a high subsequently of around US$130.
The carmaker reports its latest quarterly earnings on Wednesday and broker projections are for losses of US$1.50 per share and revenues of around US$114mln.