A123's Latest Twist Into Business History: Wanxiang Buy Out, Minus Government Business

There is another update in the story of the nanotech/cleantech company A123, which recently declared bankruptcy. According to the Washington Post this weekend, “Wanxiang America, the U.S. arm of a Chinese automotive parts giant, won the bidding for a bankrupt Massachusetts-based lithium battery manufacturer that was once hailed as a cornerstone of President Obama’s quest for American dominance in electric vehicles and battery technology.”

“A123 Systems announced Sunday that Wanxiang would pay $256.6 million for all of A123’s technology, its manufacturing facilities in the United States and China, and its contracts with utilities seeking grid storage and automakers seeking batteries for electric and hybrid vehicles.”

“Wanxiang would not acquire A123’s Ann Arbor, Mich.-based government business, which includes all of its U.S. military contracts. Those would be acquired for $2.25 million by Navitas Systems, a Woodridge, Ill.-based provider of energy storage products for commercial, industrial and government agency customers.” Please see the Washington Post article for more details.

Intellectual property concerns of various stripes apparently did not stop the sale, for now at least.