German air taxi firm Lilium plans to get airborne by raising $250m

Germany's Lilium said on Tuesday it would raise up to $250m (about R4.6bn), including from its largest shareholder Tencent Holdings, to fund the development of its eVTOL (electric vertical take-off and landing) jet.

Lilium's US-listed shares surged 43.24% to $0.55 (about R10). in premarket trading after the air taxi developer said the funds will enable cover of "most of the estimated capital" for its first manned flight.

Tencent-affiliate Aceville will get 184.2-million Lilium warrants worth $1 a class A share, Lilium said.

Aceville will pre-fund $100m (about R1.8bn) of the aggregate exercise price of the warrants upon issuance and will contribute a further $75m (about R1.4bn) if Lilium raises the same amount through equity, debt or grants from third parties.

Lilium did not disclose the valuation at which it planned to raise the funds. The company had a market capitalisation of $152.43m (about R2.8bn) at close of trade on Monday, according to Refinitiv data.

Tencent owns a 23.4% stake in Lilium, as per Refinitiv data.

Lilium is competing in a crowded market for eVTOL vehicles, hoping to replace cars with aircraft or helicopters for road trips or short hops.

Headed by former Airbus executive Klaus Roewe, Lilium is initially targeting contracts with large corporations and private individuals. It says it has 640 potential orders.

It had about $157.5m (about R2.9bn) in cash, cash equivalents and other financial assets as of March 31.