Automotive News Canada - September 2022 - 27

* SEPTEMBER 2022
27
Imperium to be spun off to raise interest, funds
Two executives exit,
the new vehicle is
delayed and the
company plans an
IPO or merger
By SAM McEACHERN
T ORONTO CORRESPONDENT
SURREY, B.C.-BASED DSG
Global Inc. has announced plans
to spin off Imperium Motors, its
fledgling EV division, through
an initial public offering (IPO)
or a merger with a special-purpose
acquisition company.
The move comes on the heels
of the departure of Christian
Dubois, Imperium Motors
Canada's Vancouver-based president,
and Rick Curtis, who
oversaw the
company's
U.S. operations.
Dubois
announced
in
August via
LinkedIn that
he was leaving.
Dubois,
based
in Vancouver,
announced
his departure
as Imperium
Motors Canada
president in
August.
FILE PHOTO
" After
a fantastic
year...I
have decided
to leave
Imperium to
pursue the
next great
opportunity! "
Curtis,
meanwhile,
was hired in May by Mullen
Automotive Inc., an EV startup
based in Brea, Calif.
DSG Global CEO Robert
Silzer told Automotive News
Canada that the company is
hiring a new CEO for its North
American operations to replace
Curtis, who joined Imperium in
2019. That individual will decide
whether to fill Dubois' shoes
with another Vancouver-based
executive.
In August, DSG Global said
it had retained the Atlantabased
finance firm Icon Capital
Group to be the adviser and broker
for the potential spinoff of
Imperium.
IPO WILL PROMOTE EV BUSINESS
The Imperium brand is a
wholly owned subsidiary of
DSG Global, a technology company
that markets fleet-management
and tracking software
for golf carts through its
Vantage Tag Systems business.
The IPO listing will help
DSG Global differentiate its EV
business from its cart business,
among other immediate advantages,
Silzer said.
" Not only to raise capital
but, more importantly, it's an
immediate move to Nasdaq, "
Silzer said. " One of the problems
has been where the EV
division, in with the golf division,
has just not really been
grasped by a lot of the shareholders.
" I
think we will get a lot
more attention being put into
our own category now with
the EV business than we [did]
before [the IPO]. "
Dubois said in spring that
Imperium planned to have a
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seven-store dealership network
operating in Canada before the
end of the summer, with locations
in Quebec, Ontario and
British Columbia.
The company has said it
plans to import EV models from
China, as opposed to engineering
and producing its own vehicles.
The
first Imperium model
will be a compact crossover
called the SEV, which is based
on a vehicle manufactured by
China-based Skyworth. Setbacks
in getting the vehicle homologated
for Canada have delayed the
vehicle from its expected launch
earlier this year, Silzer said.
Imperium now expects it to go
on sale here in the first quarter
of 2023 at the earliest. - ANC
Imperium anticipated that
the SEV would be on sale in
Canada earlier this year, but the
China-built vehicle has been
delayed until next year.
SUPPLIED PHOTO
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Automotive News Canada - September 2022

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