WILMINGTON, Delaware (Reuters) — A U.S.
judge on Friday rejected a planned sale of Fisker Automotive to a
Hong Kong tycoon, opening the way for China's largest auto parts
company to buy the defunct maker of the Karma plug-in hybrid sports
car.
U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Kevin Gross said competitive bidding between a
company affiliated with the tycoon, Richard Li, and a unit of auto
parts maker Wanxiang Group of China was the best way forward.
"I think that, for me, at the end of the case, whether or not the
price paid was fair or reasonable, I think an auction will provide
that mechanism. That is the most favored method," Gross said. He
scheduled a hearing for 2 p.m. EST (1900 GMT) Monday to decide how
to proceed with an auction.
Gross made the ruling at a hearing in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in
Wilmington, Delaware, to determine how to proceed in Fisker's
bankruptcy.
Fisker filed for bankruptcy in November with a plan to forgo the
typical route in a Chapter 11 of putting the business on the auction
block.
Li was planning to "credit bid," or forgive a portion of what Fisker
owes on a $168 million secured loan that he holds. Under the plan,
other creditors were likely to get next to nothing.
Li bought the loan for $25 million from the U.S. government at an
auction in October. The government extended the loan to the start-up
in 2009 under a program to promote cleaner vehicles.
Fisker's unsecured creditors objected to the company's plan and
teamed up with Wanxiang, which has said it plans to start the cash
bidding at $35 million. The unsecured creditors said the Wanxiang
plan could fetch more than 40 cents for every dollar they are owed.
At Friday's hearing, Gross said he will still allow Li to make a
credit bid, but said he will cap the amount at the $25 million Li
paid for the loan.
Li's lawyer, Tobias Keller, called such a cap on a credit bid
"radical."
"Be careful of the precedent you're setting for yourself and your
brethren," Keller said.
Keller declined to comment after the hearing on whether Li's company
planned to appeal Gross's ruling or bid at the auction. A
representative of Li did not immediately respond to a request for
comment.
Sunni Beville, a lawyer representing creditors, said the creditors
were happy with the ruling. "The bidders will talk with their
wallets," she said. She said an auction could be held in February.
Beville said the creditors hope to entice others to bid. Bob Lutz, a
former General Motors executive, and GreenTech Autos, a car maker,
had shown interest in Fisker's assets prior to the bankruptcy, she
said.
Fisker shut down production in 2012 after a series of missteps and
recalls of its luxury cars, which were priced at more than $100,000.
Wanxiang America is headquartered in Elgin, Illinois, and operates
27 manufacturing plants in 13 states and employs approximately 6,000
U.S. workers, according to court documents.
It paid about $256 million for most of the assets of A123 Systems
Inc, which made batteries for Fisker, in a 2012 bankruptcy court
auction. Like Fisker, A123 was also funded in part with a U.S.
government loan.
Wanxiang has said it hopes to restart production at Fisker in the
coming months and could shift production to Michigan from Finland.
The case is In re Fisker Automotive Holdings Inc, U.S. Bankruptcy
Court for the District of Delaware, No. 13-13087.
