A123 Files For Bankruptcy, Johnson Controls To Take Over

Derek Kreindler
by Derek Kreindler

Reuters reports that battery maker A123 Systems is filing to bankruptcy protection in Delaware.

The company has received cash infusions from China earlier this summer, and its financial situation has been precarious, to say the least. Political controversies were also part and parcel of the story, as with any green energy project today, and A123 received a $249 million dollar grant from the Obama administration in 2009. A123 supplied battery technology to Fisker and General Motors.

UPDATE:

Johnson Controls will be purchasing the remnants of A123, while providing $72.5 million in funding to help A123 continue operations as it goes through bankruptcy proceedings.

Crain’s Detroit Business is reporting that

Under the deal, the Waltham, Mass-based A123 will pay to license technology its own grid, commercial and government technologies from JCI.

Presumably, A123’s brand will carry on under the JCI empire. That won’t do much for the beleaguered battery company, which apparently posted 14 consecutive losing quarters, and has $376 million in debt versus $459.8 million in assets. In the filing, A123 noted

“The company may not have sufficient cash to fund operations and may need to seek the protections provided under the U.S. Bankruptcy Code…No assurance can be given that the company will be able to avoid restructuring, reorganization, or a bankruptcy filing.”

Derek Kreindler
Derek Kreindler

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  • SCE to AUX SCE to AUX on Oct 16, 2012

    Good thing Johnson Controls is there to keep the lights on at A123, but it probably won't be the same company once the dust settles.

  • Cheezeweggie Cheezeweggie on Oct 17, 2012

    this is a political rant pretending to be a car blog.

  • ToolGuy First picture: I realize that opinions vary on the height of modern trucks, but that entry door on the building is 80 inches tall and hits just below the headlights. Does anyone really believe this is reasonable?Second picture: I do not believe that is a good parking spot to be able to access the bed storage. More specifically, how do you plan to unload topsoil with the truck parked like that? Maybe you kids are taller than me.
  • ToolGuy The other day I attempted to check the engine oil in one of my old embarrassing vehicles and I guess the red shop towel I used wasn't genuine Snap-on (lots of counterfeits floating around) plus my driveway isn't completely level and long story short, the engine seized 3 minutes later.No more used cars for me, and nothing but dealer service from here on in (the journalists were right).
  • Doughboy Wow, Merc knocks it out of the park with their naming convention… again. /s
  • Doughboy I’ve seen car bras before, but never car beards. ZZ Top would be proud.
  • Bkojote Allright, actual person who knows trucks here, the article gets it a bit wrong.First off, the Maverick is not at all comparable to a Tacoma just because they're both Hybrids. Or lemme be blunt, the butch-est non-hybrid Maverick Tremor is suitable for 2/10 difficulty trails, a Trailhunter is for about 5/10 or maybe 6/10, just about the upper end of any stock vehicle you're buying from the factory. Aside from a Sasquatch Bronco or Rubicon Jeep Wrangler you're looking at something you're towing back if you want more capability (or perhaps something you /wish/ you were towing back.)Now, where the real world difference should play out is on the trail, where a lot of low speed crawling usually saps efficiency, especially when loaded to the gills. Real world MPG from a 4Runner is about 12-13mpg, So if this loaded-with-overlander-catalog Trailhunter is still pulling in the 20's - or even 18-19, that's a massive improvement.
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