China's Evergrande has acquired 45 percent of Faraday Future (FF) for HK$6.7 billion ($860 million), according to a statement it sent to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on Monday. The transaction makes Evergrande the largest stockholder in the U.S.-based electric car start-up.
The Shenzhen-based real estate group, which also owns a soccer team in South China's Guangdong Province, acquired the stake in FF through its Hong Kong-based investment arm Evergrande Health.
A statement published on Monday by FF on its official Twitter account confirmed the transaction. "We welcome Evergrande Health as a new strategic investor," said Jia Yueting, CEO of FF.
The company has received to date a total of $2 billion in equity funding, which was recently approved by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S., according to the statement.
FF is a start-up manufacturer of electric cars. The company, based in Silicon Valley, is often referred to as a competitor of electric car giant Tesla Motors. The company claims its flagship model FF91 offers 1,050 horsepower and can run more than 500 kilometers on a single charge.
Jia is also known in China as founder of Chinese tech giant LeEco, a debt-embattled internet company.
His financial troubles led to Jia being put on an official blacklist of financial offenders by the Chinese government, which bans him from buying airplane or high-speed rail tickets in China.
