2023 Fisker Ocean Extreme Sport Utility 4d on 2040-cars

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As Fisker heads toward liquidation, creditors fight over assets

NEW YORK — Electric vehicle startup Fisker is headed towards a liquidation, attorneys said in U.S. bankruptcy court on Friday, as two creditor factions previewed a battle over which group will be paid first.  Fisker filed for bankruptcy protection in Delaware on Monday after burning through cash in an attempt to ramp up production of its Ocean SUVs. The company initially said it would seek additional financing and continue "reduced operations," but Fisker's attorney Brian Resnick said at the hearing in Wilmington the company does "not currently anticipate being able to obtain financing."  Resnick told U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Thomas Horan that the company planned to liquidate its assets, and it has reached a tentative deal with a single buyer for all of its 4,300 vehicles.  The California-based company, founded by automotive designer Henrik Fisker, was never profitable, with about $273 million in revenue in 2023 and a net loss of $940 million.  Fisker owes over $850 million to two groups of bondholders, and attorneys for the larger group accused a minority faction led by Heights Capital Management of seizing control of Fisker's debt in November through a "suspect" transaction with Fisker.  At the time, Fisker was late in providing audited financial statements due under its debt agreements, and Heights used that "minor, technical default" to claim all of Fisker's assets as collateral on its bonds, Alex Lees, an attorney for other bondholders, said.  "They basically handed the whole business over to Heights," Lees told Horan. "Fisker has been liquidating outside of this court's supervision, basically for one creditor's sole benefit."  Lees said that Fisker should have filed for bankruptcy in November. His group intends to challenge the November agreement that put Heights at the front of the line for repayment in Fisker's bankruptcy, Lees said.  Heights' attorney Scott Greissman said Lees' claim was "outrageous" and that Heights tried to help Fisker survive.  "There may be a lot of disappointed creditors, but none more than Heights," Greissman said.  Greissman said the expected sale of Fisker's fleet would pay only a "fraction" of Heights' $185 million in debt. That would leave little hope of repayment for other creditors.  Linda Richenderfer, an attorney for the U.S.

Fisker stops production, warns it may need to seek bankruptcy

Fisker Inc. is pausing production for the next six weeks as the electric-vehicle maker looks to rein in inventory and avoid possibly having to file for bankruptcy. The company didn’t make a required interest payment of about $8.4 million last week on its unsecured convertible notes due in 2026, according to a regulatory filing Monday. Fisker warned it may not be able to meet obligations to service its debt and “could need to seek protection under applicable bankruptcy laws.” Fisker shares fell as much as 14% shortly after the start of regular trading. The stock had plummeted 90% this year through last weekÂ’s close. Fisker also said Monday that it plans to raise as much as $150 million through a financing deal with the holder of its 2025-dated convertible notes. The Los Angeles-based EV maker didnÂ’t identify the existing investor and said the funding will be organized in four tranches and subject to certain conditions. The disclosures expound on the dire state of Fisker, which warned late last month that there was substantial doubt about its ability to stay in business. The company has said it will cut 15% of its workforce after struggling with production issues, software glitches and short-seller criticism. Fisker said it remains in negotiations with an unidentified large automaker about a potential investment and joint development partnership. Bloomberg reported earlier this month that the company was in talks with JapanÂ’s Nissan Motor Co., citing people familiar with the matter. In its statement, Fisker said it has about 4,700 vehicles in inventory worth more than $200 million. ItÂ’s pausing production in Graz, Austria, starting this week to sell down its supply of already-built EVs.   Earnings/Financials Plants/Manufacturing Fisker

Fisker talking to 5 automakers, seeks production: 'We have 2 cars that are almost ready'

  BERLIN — U.S. electric vehicle startup Fisker is negotiating with five carmakers over a partnership to secure additional production capacity for its vehicles, its Chief Executive Henrik Fisker said on Thursday. "We have two cars that are almost ready. We can bring them to market fast — we just need the capacity," Fisker said, speaking to Reuters in Berlin. The CEO told Reuters in May he was exploring partnerships with everyone from suppliers to tech companies to scale up production. On Thursday, he said he was in negotiations with five "traditional car companies" and hoped to pick a partner in the coming months. The California-based startup has one vehicle on the market — an SUV called Ocean, being launched from a factory in Austria operated by a unit of Magna International. Two further models, a pickup and a smaller SUV, are due to be released by 2025. The SUV, called PEAR, will be built with Foxconn in Ohio, but further capacity is needed for both models. Production Fisker Pear View 26 Photos It has so far produced 5,000 units of the Ocean car, according to a September update. Still, it cut its annual production target in August and adjusted pricing in October as it grappled with a slowdown in electric-vehicle demand. The chief executive was confident the company was still on the road to profit, and said it would report a double-digit margin this year, in line with its annual forecast of an 8-12% gross margin for 2023. It is due to release third-quarter results on Monday, after reporting a loss of 25 cents per share in the second quarter.