Electric vehicle maker Lucid expects to raise $1.67 billion from the stock sale

(Reuters) – Cash-strapped electric vehicle maker Lucid said on Thursday a public offering of more than 262 million shares would likely raise it $1.67 billion.

News of the stock sale, as well as the company's recent warning of a bigger-than-expected loss in the third quarter, sent shares of the luxury electric sedan maker falling more than 17% in premarket trading.

Lucid expects an operating loss in the range of $765 million to $790 million for the quarter ended Sept. 30, compared with analyst estimates of $751.7 million, according to data compiled by LSEG.

The company also signed an agreement with Ayar Third Investment, an affiliate of Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund and the company's largest shareholder, to sell nearly 375 million shares in a private placement.

Ayar expects to retain ownership of approximately 59% of the company's outstanding shares, Lucid said.

The sovereign wealth fund subsidiary pledged an additional $1.5 billion in August, which Lucid had initially expected would provide sufficient liquidity through the fourth quarter of next year.

Lucid had about $1.35 billion in cash and cash equivalents at the end of the second quarter.

The company said it intends to use the proceeds from the share sale and private placement for general corporate purposes, investments and working capital.

(Reporting by Akash Sriram in Bengaluru)