Two Chinese Carmakers Drop Fisker Bids

Two Chinese automakers reportedly interested in buying Fisker Automotive Inc. have abandoned talks with the California-based hybrid carmaker, according to The Wall Street Journal.

The news, which the newspaper attributes to unidentified sources, clouds Fisker's future. The company says it is still discussing options with several other parties. One possibility: China's Wanxiang Group, which acquired Fisker's bankrupt battery supplier, A123 Systems Inc., in January.

The Journal's sources say Dongfeng Motor and Zheijiang Geely balked at the possibility of being required to produce vehicles at a former General Motors plant in Wilmington, Del. Reviving the plant and hiring as many as 2,500 workers were conditions of the $529 million loan Fisker obtained from the U.S. Dept. of Energy in 2010.

Reuters says the DOE would have to approve any Fisker merger. The department froze Fisker's loan a year ago because the company missed sales and production targets.

Fisker is urging prospective buyers to tap the remaining $337 million of the loan, according to the Journal, which it says would probably require the new borrower to agree to the government's original terms.