Fisker Files For Bankruptcy
Fisker Automotive filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection today.
As part of a restructuring plan and to fund the sale, Hybrid Tech
Holdings LLC will buy Fisker’s assets with $8 million in
debtor-in-possession financing.
Fisker has been dormant since last year and industry watchers were waiting to see whether it would file bankruptcy following a mass layoff in April.
Instead of going down with the ship, company executives stayed on
board the company operating as a mere shell of its former self in search
of a buyer.
The company put up a new Web site
in May after allegedly failing to pay its Web designer, but never once
replied to inquiries sent by this publication to its media inquiry page
and via phone.
The company’s executives reportedly resisted bankruptcy during the
months of dormancy for strategic purposes even though it was essentially
dead in the water.
Due in part to debts, including $168 million to the federal government, $1 million in back taxes
to the state of Delaware, and contractual obligations to invest and
create jobs in the U.S., would-be suitors made low-ball offers or
ultimately shied away and a suitable buyer was never found.
In October, the U.S. Energy Department which had oversight in decisions made, cut its losses, and auctioned the assets for $25 million.
“After having evaluated and pursued all other alternatives, we
believe the sale to Hybrid and the related Chapter 11 process is the
best alternative for maximizing Fisker Automotive’s value for the
benefit of all stakeholders,” said a statement by Marc Beilinson, Fisker
Automotive’s chief restructuring officer. “We believe that the Fisker
Automotive technology and product development capability will remain a
guiding force in the evolution of the automotive industry under Hybrid’s
leadership.”