H Syre eyes $700 million in new funding after Nike deal

Swedish textile startup Syre AB plans to lift as a lot as $700 million in contemporary funding to construct a manufacturing unit in Vietnam, following a provide deal with Nike Inc. that it says will assist unlock new borrowing.

Syre chief government officer Dennis Nobelius stated the corporate has struck a multi-year settlement to produce the world’s largest sportswear group with recycled polyester. It’s a transfer that may even strengthen Syre’s prospects for financing, he added.

Founded in 2023 by Hennes Mauritz AB and Vargas Holding AB, the corporate raised $100 million in 2024 to fund its first facility in North Carolina. Nobelius says the textile provider now plans to take a extra “sequential” strategy to fundraising in comparison with earlier Vargas-backed ventures resembling bankrupt battery maker Northvolt AB.

The Nike contract is “a bankable offtake agreement meaning we can use it for project financing, for example, for the Vietnam factory,” Nobelius stated in an interview.

Syre will begin approaching lenders and traders in about six months, with the goal of finalising a capital increase in the area of $500 million and $700 million in a couple of yr’s time, in accordance with the CEO.

Those funds can be used to assemble the Vietnamese plant in 2027, with manufacturing focused for late 2029. Progress will nonetheless rely in half on the federal government of Vietnam finalising import licenses for textile waste, which is a key prerequisite for delivering large-scale round manufacturing in the nation, Nobelius stated.

Syre, whose early prospects embrace HM Group, Gap Inc., Target Corp., and Houdini Sportswear AB, says its goal is to function a couple of dozen vegetation globally over the subsequent decade, producing roughly 3 million tons of round polyester. The startup can also be backed by TPG Rise Climate, Volvo Car AB, IMAS Foundation, Giant Ventures, and Norrsken VC.

Speaking of future financing wants, Nobelius stated: “We’ve adjusted our plans — it’s natural. Instead of funding several factories at once, we’re focusing on securing capital in sequence.”