Bankruptcy Court Sets Auction of A123 Assets

A federal bankruptcy judge has scheduled a Dec. 6 auction of the assets of lithium-ion battery maker A123 Systems, which is expected to be a showdown between Milwaukee-based Johnson Controls and China's Wanxiang Group.

But A123 says about 25 parties have signed confidentiality agreements to participate in the auction. Japan's NEC Corp. and Germany's Siemens AG tell the court they are interesting in bidding.

Waltham, Mass.-based A123 entered Chapter 11 in mid-October with JCI's agreement to buy its automotive battery business for $125 million. That bid will act as a "stalking horse" to attract other offers.

If JCI does not win the auction, A123 has agreed to pay it a $2.5 million breakup fee and $3 million to reimburse costs.

Wanxiang, whose pre-bankruptcy bid for an 80% stake in A123 assets collapsed last month, says it has submitted a confidential offer to buy the entire company. A123 also makes batteries for use by the U.S. military and for commercial energy grid storage.

The original Wanxiang deal reportedly failed because it hadn't obtained the approval of the U.S. Committee on Foreign Investment. The Chinese conglomerate says it continues to seek the watchdog panel's approval.