Friday, January 10, 2014

Fisker assets will go to public auction, judge…

WILMINGTON, Del. — The judge in the Fisker Automotive bankruptcy case has ruled that assets of the failed electric car maker will go to public auction.

Bankruptcy Judge Kevin Gross heard testimony Friday to decide whether to accept Hybrid Technologies LLC's offer to buy Fisker's assets at less than a penny on the dollar.

STORY: Fisker heads back to bankruptcy court
STORY: Production unlikely at Fisker's Del. plant

Another bidder for the bankrupt electric car maker, Wanxiang America Inc., had dangled hope earlier this week that an old General Motors facility near Newport, Del., might someday see the production of new vehicles if Wanxiang were allowed to take over the company's assets.

"It just isn't realistic for us to take on" the Delaware plant for manufacturing," lawyers for Hybrid Technologies said in court Friday.

Hybrid suggested selling the Delaware plant to maximize money that could be returned to Fisker's creditors, which include the state of Delaware.

Fisker Automotive, the California-based plug-in hybrid manufacturer, received state and federal incentives with the intention of reopening the old GM plant, but instead declared bankruptcy in November. That month, Hybrid bought Fisker's $168 million federal Department of Energy loan for about $25 million. Hybrid wants to apply credit on that loan toward its purchase of Fisker's assets in bankruptcy.

Wanxiang, China's largest auto parts manufacturer, had asked Gross to open up the asset sale process to an auction, arguing it can deliver more value to creditors.

No comments:

Post a Comment