UQM withdraws efforts for second stock deal with Chinese firm

LONGMONT — UQM Technologies Inc., a maker of components for the electric-motor industry, said Wednesday that it will withdraw efforts on a second-stage investment from a company in China.

Longmont-based UQM Technologies (NYSE: UQM) and China National Heavy Duty Truck Group Co., Ltd. are no longer pursuing a stock-purchase by China National after the federal government’s Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States informed UQM that it likely would not approve the $28.3 million stock-purchase agreement that was signed by both parties in August of last year.

China National will remain UQM’s largest shareholder based on a first-stage investment, and it still is UQM’s main partner in China.

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In March, UQM and China National withdrew its application for the second-stage investment and had plans to resubmit it after addressing issues brought up by the committee.

“We have worked jointly with CNHTC and CFIUS throughout this process, and we have not been able to come up with a resolution that satisfies the committee’s concerns regarding the second-stage investment in UQM in its current form,” Joe Mitchell, UQM’s president and chief executive, said in a prepared statement.

UQM intends to engage China National in discussions to pursue the possibility of alternative arrangements to continue doing business together.

“The collective business goals of CNHTC and UQM have not changed,” Mitchell said. “We continue to have discussions with the top executives of CNHTC, and they are committed to partnering with us to capitalize on the electric-vehicle market in China.”

CNHTC’s subsidiary, Sinotruk, recently placed follow-on orders with UQM for a number of propulsion systems.

“We are mutually pushing forward with our joint plans, and we look forward to working out the business arrangement that will satisfy all stakeholders and allow us to execute on our overall strategy,” Mitchell said.

On Thursday, UQM reported revenue for the quarter ending March 31 was $1.6 million compared with $1 million in the first quarter last year, an increase of 59 percent. Net loss for the first quarter was $1.9 million, or 4 cents per common share. This compares to a net loss of $1.6 million, or 3 cents per common share for the same period last year.