Products & Solutions

'Not walking away:' Johnson Controls still interested in buying A123

By Thomas Content of the Journal Sentinel

December 10, 2012 - The process of selling a bankrupt Massachusetts battery technology firm is not over, and Johnson Controls remains interested, the president of the company’s power solutions business said Monday.

 

But the company wasn’t going to “pay anything” to buy the technology, and now awaits the outcome of a protracted bankruptcy and federal review process, Alex Molinaroli said.

 

Molinaroli commented after Johnson Controls withdrew from the auction to buy A123 Systems Inc. over the weekend, when the price became too steep.

 

A123 Systems said Sunday that Wanxiang Group Corp. and Navitas Systems had won the bidding for A123, with Wanxiang awarded the automotive and power-grid business for $256.6 million, and Navitas set to buy the military business for $2.25 million.

 

Johnson Controls withdrew from bidding early Saturday after several rounds of bidding. The combined bid of Johnson Controls and NEC was about $6 million to $8 million less than Wanxiang's.

 

A123, based in Massachusetts, received $124 million from the federal stimulus package to open a battery factory and launch production of batteries for electric vehicles. Johnson Controls is also the recipient of stimulus funding, for its lithium-ion battery factory in Michigan and expansion of its power solutions research center in Glendale.

 

But the deal, which could be tentatively approved Tuesday by a federal bankruptcy court judge, must also be endorsed by the U.S. government.

 

“That’s still an open issue,” Molinaroli said. “We’re still here, watching, making sure our interest is known that we’re not walking away. We were just not successful in the auction process.”

 

The U.S. Council on Foreign Investment in the United States – a panel comprised of several members of President Barack Obama’s cabinet – has been looking into the matter.

 

Continue reading the full story on the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

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'Not walking away:' Johnson Controls still interested in buying A123
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