A123 owner wins auction for Fisker Automotive
The owner of lithium-ion battery maker A123 Systems, which has operations in Westborough and Hopkinton, won an auction Friday for hybrid car maker Fisker Automotive with a $149.2 million bid.
A123’s owner, Wanxiang Group of China, beat out Hybrid Tech Holdings LLC for the California manufacturer of luxury plug-in hybrids. The offer includes $126.2 million in cash, $8 million of assumed liabilities and a 20 percent stake in Fisker for creditors.
Fisker was seeking just $25 million from Hybrid when it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in November.
A123 previously made batteries for Fisker’s Karma hybrid sports car, many of which had to be recalled due to defective power packs. Fisker also said it had a hard time meeting inventory after A123 itself filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in late 2012.
The recent auction took three days and went through 19 rounds of bidding, according to court records. A U.S. bankruptcy judge will consider approving the sale today.
Wanxiang has been growing its manufacturing presence in the U.S., having purchased the assets of A123 in January 2013. Wanxiang’s lithium-ion battery activity was brought under A123’s leadership in October and aligned with the company’s existing Chinese operations.
Both Fisker and A123 had received loans from the U.S. government to foster clean-fuel technologies.
(Image credit: freedigitalphotos.net)
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