Forget Gas Prices. The Billionaire Club’s Run on Cobalt Says Everything About Our Battery-Powered Future

Problems quickly emerged. Bateman, a consulting firm owned by one of Gertler’s fellow shareholders, Beny Steinmetz, had conducted the feasibility study prior to the public offering, but after the IPO, it became apparent that “the methodology for doing the costing was not accurate,” Nikanor’s head of funding at the time, Brian Scallan, told Vanity Fair. Lowball projections may have helped entice U.K. investors, but now they meant the company would require hundreds of millions in further funding to get off the ground. The news incensed the J.P. Morgan team, who felt they and their market clients had been hoodwinked. After… Read Full Article