A123 Selling Most Assets To Chinese Firm
A subsidiary of Chinese firm Wanxiang Group will acquire nearly all of lithium-ion battery maker A123 Systems' assets for $256.6 million, following a bankruptcy auction last week, A123 announced.
Waltham-based A123 – which has operations in Hopkinton and Westborough – and Wanxaing will seek court approval of the sale at a hearing on Tuesday.
According to the terms of the agreement, Wanxiang will acquire A123's automotive, grid and commercial business assets, including all technology, products, customer contracts and U.S. facilities in Michigan, Massachusetts and Missouri. It would also acquire the company's cathode powder manufacturing operations in China and its equity interest in Shanghai Advanced Traction Battery Systems Co., A123's joint venture with Shanghai Automotive.
A123's Ann Arbor, Mich.-based government business, which includes all U.S. military contracts, was excluded from the Wanxaing deal. That business will be acquired for $2.25 million by Navitas Systems, a Woodridge, Ill.-based company.
A123 CEO Dave Vieau said the auction process for the company's assets was "robust and competitive."
"We are pleased with the result of the auction and believe that the selected bids from Wanxiang and Navitas maximize the value of A123's assets for the benefit of our stakeholders," he said in a statement. "We think we have structured this transaction to address potential national security concerns expressed during the review of our previous investment agreement with Wanxiang announced in August, as well as to address concerns raised by the Department of Energy."
A123 and the Obama administration came under fire from lawmakers and others in August when the company announced plans to enter into an agreement with Wanxiang that would infuse A123 with needed cash to continue operating, but also give the Chinese firm a majority stake in the company. A123 had received $249 million in stimulus money from the Energy Department, and some had expressed concern that the deal with Wanxiang would allow millions of U.S. government funding to go overseas and that the Chinese company would take intellectual property and manufacturing jobs with it. A123 company also received a $5 million from the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center.
A123 filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in October and had planned to sell parts of its business to Milwaukee-based Johnson Controls before it was determined that the company's assets would go to auction.
Chicago-based Wanxiang America has been in the automotive and industrial markets in the U.S. since 1994, according to A123, and has more than 3,000 employees in the U.S. The company is a subsidiary of Wanxiang Group, China's largest automotive components manufacturer and one of the country's largest non-state-owned companies. A123 is Wanxiang's fifth clean energy investment in the U.S. in 2012.
Pin Ni, president of Wanxiang America, said, "We plan to build on the engineering and manufacturing capabilities that A123 has established in the U.S. and we are committed to making the long-term investments necessary for A123 to be successful."
According to A123's bankruptcy filings, the company has debt of more than $376 million. A123 said because its total sale price would be less than the total amount owed to creditors, the company doesn't "anticipate any recoveries for its current shareholders and believes its stock to have no value."
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