A123 Systems, the government sponsored hi-tech battery company from Massachusetts that declared bankruptcy in October 2012, has sold off its government and research arm to Navitas Systems, an Illinois-based energy systems company, for $2.3 million in a bankruptcy court auction, The Detroit News reported Tuesday. Navitas plans to keep about 40 of A123’s total 1,300 employees on board in southeast Michigan, The Detroit News noted.
Chinese company Wanxiang America Corp. acquired most of the remainder of A123’s business in an auction, beating out other bidders, and the deal was recently approved by the government despite national security concerns raised by Michigan Senators Carl Levin (D) and Debbie Stabenow (D).
A123 won a $249 million grant from the Energy Department but only drew down about $132 million of it, an Energy Department spokesperson previously told TPM.
