Singapore sovereign wealth fund GIC Private Limited has sued Nio Inc over disputes regarding the Chinese electric vehicle (EV) maker's revenue recognition practices.
NIO’s US-listed shares sank 2% on Thursday after an initial loss of 7%, and its Hong Kong-listed shares dropped as much as 6% on Thursday.
Chinese media outlet Caixin first reported yesterday on this lawsuit filed in August, focusing on Nio's relationship with its battery asset operator Mirattery and the company's revenue recognition methods.
GIC alleges Nio misled investors by potentially inflating revenue through Mirattery --established with partners including CATL - resulting in losses for GIC.
The case was temporarily stayed in a US court earlier this month pending the outcome of a prior class action lawsuit. Until that class action is resolved, Nio has no obligation to respond to the complaint.
Nio's legal department is handling GIC's lawsuit, CnEVPost has learned.
GIC accumulated about 54.45 million Nio ADS shares between August 2020 and July 2022. During this period, Nio's stock price experienced significant volatility.
Nio ADS experienced an epic surge throughout 2020, rising over tenfold the whole year and reaching an all-time high of $66.99 on January 11, 2021.
Following that peak, Nio experienced a prolonged decline and currently trades below $7.
The trigger for GIC's lawsuit against Nio was a short-selling report released in June 2022 by US short-seller Grizzly Research, as noted in yesterday's Caixin report.
In its June 28, 2022 report, Grizzly claimed Nio was playing an accounting game similar to Valeant's to inflate revenue and boost profit margins.
The short seller suspected Nio likely used an unconsolidated affiliate, Mirattery, to exaggerate revenue and profitability, drawing parallels to the Philidor-Valeant relationship.
Nio subsequently conducted an internal review concluding these allegations were unfounded. Multiple Wall Street analysts also refuted Grizzly's claims in their research notes at the time.
GIC's allegations echo Grizzly's stance, contending that Nio cannot recognize full battery sales revenue upfront when selling batteries to Mirattery under its BaaS (Battery as a Service) model.
The Singapore sovereign wealth fund contends that had Nio adopted what it considers compliant installment recognition methods, its reported performance would have been significantly diminished, making it unlikely for its stock price to surge to historic highs in early 2021.
Mirattery was established on August 18, 2020, as a joint venture between CATL, Nio, Guotai Junan, and Hubei Science Technology Investment.
In August 2020, Nio launched its BaaS battery rental service, with Mirattery serving as the manager of these leased battery assets.
Following Grizzly Research's short-selling report in June 2022, Nio faced two class action lawsuits in August and September 2022 based on the report, filed by Saye and Bohonok respectively.
On December 14, 2022, the Southern District of New York in the US consolidated the two lawsuits and designated lead plaintiffs. In July 2023, Nio filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuits, which the court has yet to rule on.
Regarding why GIC waited three years to sue Nio, Caixin cited an investor source stating that GIC's book losses may have constituted a material event, with the lawsuit representing a delayed initiation of institutional accountability procedures.
GIC has an obligation to take action to demonstrate it has diligently safeguarded its fiduciary assets, the source said.