EV charger maker ECOtality Inc., filed for bankruptcy with plans to sell itself at a court-supervised auction to pay off debt.
The bankruptcy proceedings will take place in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Arizona, the company said.
In August, ECOtality warned that it might be forced into bankruptcy, partly because of weaker-than-anticipated sales and a failure to release a new version of its Minit Charger this year.
ECOtality, which operates under three businesses – Blink, Minit Charger and eTec Labs – won a $115 million loan guarantee through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, of which about $96 million has already been paid. The DOE suspended payments last month.
The company plans to put all of its assets up for sale at an auction overseen by the court. Before it filed, eight potential bidders signed confidentiality agreements giving them access to ECOtality financial data so they could decide whether to submit an offer.
According to court document, Nissan North American Inc. agreed to lend the company $1.25 million to help fund the bankruptcy.
