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Thursday, October 18, 2012 10:44:07 PM
Chinese auto parts maker vows to top Johnson deal for A123
A lawyer for Chinese auto parts maker Wanxiang Group Corp said on Thursday it plans to make a superior bid for the battery business of A123 Systems than what a U.S. company has offered.
Wanxiang intends to bid at the auction for A123, which filed for bankruptcy earlier this week, Bojan Guzina said at a court hearing in Delaware. The Chinese company also plans to fight Johnson Controls Inc for the role of initial bidder for A123, the attorney said.
A123, a maker of lithium-ion batteries used in hybrid and electric vehicles, declared bankruptcy amid a backdrop of quality-control problems and a disappointing market for electric vehicles. The company had won a $249 million U.S. government grant in 2009.
Wanxiang has been pursuing A123 for months. The bankruptcy came after a $465 million rescue deal by the Chinese company unraveled after the U.S. battery maker was unable to meet some conditions of the agreement.
"My client feels it has been left at the altar a couple of times," Guzina, a lawyer for law firm Sidley Austin, which represents Wanxiang, said in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington.
A123 entered bankruptcy with an agreement to sell its automotive operations, including two factories in Michigan, to Milwaukee-based Johnson Controls for $125 million.
But that deal is subject to a court-supervised auction, and Wanxiang plans to contest Johnson Controls as the initial bidder -- or "stalking horse" -- in the sale process. Funds raised in the auction will go to repaying A123's creditors.
"We believe our stalking horse proposal will be materially better than Johnson Controls'," Guzina said.
http://www.foxbusiness.com/news/2012/10/18/chinese-auto-parts-maker-vows-to-top-johnson-deal-for-a123/
A lawyer for Chinese auto parts maker Wanxiang Group Corp said on Thursday it plans to make a superior bid for the battery business of A123 Systems than what a U.S. company has offered.
Wanxiang intends to bid at the auction for A123, which filed for bankruptcy earlier this week, Bojan Guzina said at a court hearing in Delaware. The Chinese company also plans to fight Johnson Controls Inc for the role of initial bidder for A123, the attorney said.
A123, a maker of lithium-ion batteries used in hybrid and electric vehicles, declared bankruptcy amid a backdrop of quality-control problems and a disappointing market for electric vehicles. The company had won a $249 million U.S. government grant in 2009.
Wanxiang has been pursuing A123 for months. The bankruptcy came after a $465 million rescue deal by the Chinese company unraveled after the U.S. battery maker was unable to meet some conditions of the agreement.
"My client feels it has been left at the altar a couple of times," Guzina, a lawyer for law firm Sidley Austin, which represents Wanxiang, said in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington.
A123 entered bankruptcy with an agreement to sell its automotive operations, including two factories in Michigan, to Milwaukee-based Johnson Controls for $125 million.
But that deal is subject to a court-supervised auction, and Wanxiang plans to contest Johnson Controls as the initial bidder -- or "stalking horse" -- in the sale process. Funds raised in the auction will go to repaying A123's creditors.
"We believe our stalking horse proposal will be materially better than Johnson Controls'," Guzina said.
http://www.foxbusiness.com/news/2012/10/18/chinese-auto-parts-maker-vows-to-top-johnson-deal-for-a123/
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