Brammo attracts $12.5 million in investment, millions in pre-orders

Brammo Inc., having announced the game-changing Empulse electric motorcycle and a giant global manufacturing partner, seems to have become something of a money magnet – pulling in $12.5 million towards a $30 million Series B round of financing from a handful of investors. Besides further funding from existing stakeholders Chrysalix Energy Venture Capital and Best Buy Capital, the brand's bold plan to go big has also caught the eye of an Oklahoma-based oil and gas exploration company called Alpine Inc. as well as one other financier who, apparently, prefers to remain anonymous at this time.

In addition to that funding, they've got pre-orders for over $6 million worth of product and its thought that figure could double before Christmas if demand stays steady. Things are looking so good, in fact, they even expect to start turning a profit next year.

So, is the next big move an IPO (Initial Public Offering)? That seems to be a distinct possibility. Referring to his company as the "antithesis of Tesla", CEO Craig Bramscher said that whereas that electric vehicle maker received commitments of more than $1 billion in equity and federal loans before going public, "we'll do it for under $100 million." Now, it's true that the capital needs of such fundamentally different product lines are contradistinctive, but it still sounds to us like he means business.

All this activity also means they are quickly outgrowing their present location. Bramscher has just let it be known they are building a new Ashland headquarters. In the first of a three-phase project, they plan to erect a 45,000 square foot building to house R&D, Administration and Marketing by next spring.

[Source: Wall Street Journal / BrammoFan]