Lordstown Motors founder sells remaining stake in EV startup

(Reuters) – Lordstown Motors founder and former CEO Stephen Burns has sold his entire stake in the electric-vehicle maker, according to a regulatory filing.

The company in May implemented a reverse stock split to comply with Nasdaq’s minimum $1 listing requirement and appease investor Foxconn that had threatened to scrap a $170 million funding in the cash-strapped company.

Burns has sold his stake in three transactions between May and June, about 581,000 shares were divested before the reverse stock split and 791,572 shares after, the filing on Wednesday showed.

The EV startup declined to comment on the stake sale.

Earlier this month, Lordstown Motors said it planned to take legal action against Taiwanese contract manufacturer Foxconn to ensure the planned purchase of nearly 10% of the company’s shares was not derailed.

Burns in 2021 resigned from the role of CEO alongside then Chief Financial Officer Julio Rodriguez following an internal investigation by the company board into claims made by short-seller Hindenburg.

Lordstown has acknowledged that it had overstated pre-orders for its electric trucks but rejected Hindenburg’s claims that the company had misled investors about production plans and exaggerated the potential of its technology.