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 Wanxiang America Corp, an affiliate of China's largest auto parts
company, bid $149.2 million for Fisker in a three-day auction that
pitted it against Hybrid Tech Holdings.
"I'm very pleased to approve the sale," said Kevin Gross, the U.S.
bankruptcy judge in Wilmington, Delaware, who is overseeing Fisker's
Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
The auction for Fisker has been dubbed a battle of Chinese
billionaires, with Wanxiang's founder Lu Guanqiu squaring off
against Richard Li of Hong Kong, who controls Hybrid. Bidding had
started at $55 million.
At the center of the fight is Fisker, which ceased production of its
elegant $100,000 sports cars in 2012 to save cash after a series of
tech glitches and cost overruns.
"We are delighted that our client prevailed at the auction, and we
look forward to completing the next step in this process," said
Bojan Guzina, a Sidley Austin attorney who represents Wanxiang.
The company said in court papers it could restart production in the
coming months, estimating that it would sell more than 1,000 Karma
hybrids in the first 18 months in the United States and 500 in
Europe.
Wanxiang bought Fisker's battery supplier, A123 Systems LLC, last
year through a similar bankruptcy sale, and said it could lower
production costs.
A123 and Fisker were both recipients of a controversial U.S.
Department of Energy loan program meant to support clean energy
technology.
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Fisker was approved to borrow up to $529 million, in part to support
the company's efforts to revive a former General Motors plant in
Delaware.
Li bought that loan late last year for $25 million. He planned to
forgive some of the $168 million balance on the loan in return for
the company's assets, a process known as credit bidding.
However, in January, Gross capped the credit bid at the $25 million
paid for the loan, a ruling that Li's lawyers criticized as
"radical."
Tuesday's hearing did not resolve who would benefit from the sale of
Fisker. Lower-ranking unsecured creditors have already challenged
Li's ability to be paid first, based on the outstanding balance on
the government loan.
Unsecured creditors have also sought to sue Li, a former Fisker
director, for pushing Fisker into bankruptcy and then trying to
seize the assets on the cheap.
The case is In re Fisker Automotive Holdings Inc, U.S. Bankruptcy
Court for the District of Delaware, No. 13-13087.
(Reporting by Tom Hals in Wilmington,
Delaware; editing by Jan Paschal)
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