[typography font="Ubuntu Condensed" size="22" size_format="px"]Electric Car Battery Maker A123 Systems Files Bankruptcy[/typography]
A123 Systems Inc. (AONE), a maker of rechargeable lithium-ion batteries for electric cars, filed for bankruptcy after failing to make a debt payment that was due yesterday.
The company listed assets of $459.8 million and debt of $376 million as of Aug. 31 in Chapter 11 documents filed today in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Delaware. Chapter 11 is the section of the Bankruptcy Code used by companies to reorganize.
A123 didn’t expect to be on time with an interest payment due yesterday on $143.8 million of notes expiring in 2016, or to make a payment due yesterday on $2.76 million in outstanding 6 percent notes, the Waltham, Massachusetts-based company said yesterday in a regulatory filing.
“The company may not have sufficient cash to fund operations and may need to seek the protections provided under the U.S. Bankruptcy Code,” A123 said.
[highlight]A123, which received a $249.1 million federal grant in 2009 to build a U.S. factory[/highlight], needed a financial lifeline after struggling with costs from a recall of batteries supplied to Fisker Automotive Inc., the plug-in hybrid luxury carmaker. [highlight]A123 announced in August that it was working on a deal with Wanxiang Group Corp., China’s largest auto-parts maker, for financing in exchange for a majority ownership stake. Wanxiang plans to invest as much as $465 million in A123, giving the Hangzhou, China-based company a stake of as much as 80 percent, A123 said in an Aug. 16 statement. [/highlight]
You almost have to wonder if that was the end game; Chinese ownership. OH, but it would “keep jobs here in the U.S.!”
Bullshit.
Big write-up about this in our Sunday paper. The Chinese company basically said it is interested in buying A123 just for the technology rights. And also they would close-up shop here and ship it all overseas.
They are constintly advertising for Quality Engineers, wouldn’t touch those job posting with a 10 resume. Either they can never hire anyone or they can’t keep anyone.
So they wouldn’t keep the jobs here? Of course not; labor is cheaper there, right? Ugh.
The results are 250 mil for the chinese.
Just found out that the Chinese company backed out of buying A123, looks like bankruptcy court for them now.
Just found that they are filing and that Johnson Controls is bidding on their assets.
Yep, was just coming on here to say I saw an article that Johnson Controls is buying A123 for basicaly pennies on the dollar.
Johnson Controls is a horrible company, look for them to sell what they can of what they buy and be done with it.
Ugh. That’s not very reassuring for A123′s employees…
It’s not just the cheaper labor in China. If the labor was fifty percent more cosly in China they’d still be cheaper to make over there.
Remember when that river in the US caught fire back in the ’70s? In China that would be the clean river.
Don’t think I want to live in China…
Please God let Romney win…
you people are missing it – (needed a financial lifeline after struggling with costs from a recall of batteries supplied to Fisker Automotive Inc., the plug-in hybrid luxury carmaker.) Fisker was another failed foreign company we gave US dollars to – How many millions are sitting in politician’s accounts? How much was given back as campaign donations? These companies are just being used to launder the money; they were never expected to survive
FYI: FISKER
Received $528 million of OUR tax dollars!
Incestuous.