Lion Electric bought for fraction of its market value: report
Posted July 7, 2025 11:22 am.
Last Updated July 7, 2025 1:14 pm.
The new owners of Lion Electric only had to put $6 million on the table to buy the electric school bus manufacturer, according to a report.
La Presse reports that the Quebec-based manufacturer of electric buses, headquartered in St-Jérôme, bought by a consortium of Quebec investors, received a good deal in the transaction.
The price paid is a far cry from Lion’s market value at the beginning of June 2021, which briefly approached $4.7 billion.
Paying $6 million for the company means there is nothing left for the creditors — a list that also includes Quebec taxpayers.
The Quebec government already sunk approximately $143 million from its existing investments in Lion.
The deal comes after months of financial instability, mounting debt and unsuccessful acquisition talks, which culminated in the company seeking creditor protection in Dec. 2024 in Canada and bankruptcy in the U.S.
The deal ensures that Lion Electric will continue operations with a focus on electric school buses, specifically at its St-Jérôme plant, while also going ahead with workforce reductions and the closure of other facilities.
Company not out of the woods yet
Lion may have new owners, but there are still a lot of risks associated with the company, and efforts will be needed to rebuild the credibility of the manufacturer, its relationships with suppliers and other partners.
The equivalent of 70 electric school buses had already been completed in the Laurentians when the company filed for creditor protection. These vehicles can now be delivered to customers. The Legault government’s renewal of the school transportation electrification program should help the company achieve this goal.
The auction for the company’s battery pack factory in Mirabel, will be held this Tuesday.
Quebec and Ottawa had jointly put $100 million on the table to finance this complex, which includes industrial robots, dust emission control systems and battery cells that will be sold to the highest bidder.
In the meantime, hundreds of former Lion employees are still waiting to find out if they will be eligible for the Wage Earner Protection Program, a federal measure that would provide compensation that has not yet been paid by the company.
