Germany air taxi firm Lilium plans to raise $250 million, shares jump

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

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

Tencent-affiliate Aceville Pte Ltd will get 184.2 million Lilium warrants worth $1 per Class A share, Lilium said.

Aceville will pre-fund $100 million of the aggregate exercise price of the warrants upon issuance and will contribute a further $75 million if Lilium raises the same amount through equity, debt or grants from some third parties.

Lilium did not disclose the valuation at which it planned to raise the funds. The company had a market capitalisation of $152.43 million as of the 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 $157.5 million of cash, cash equivalents and other financial assets as of March 31.

(Reporting by Shivansh Tiwary in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D'Souza)