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DOE gets first formal bid to buy electric car company Fisker Automotive

Fritz Nol, a group of German investors, has submitted its formal offer for electric car company Fisker Automotive to the Department of Energy. The government agency, which is still owed by Fisker Automotive most of a $192 million loan, has a say in the ultimate disposition of the electric car company.

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Damian Dovarganes/AP/File
Fisker Automotive's Fisker Karma, a sports luxury plug-in hybrid car at the 2010 Los Angeles Auto Show in Los Angeles.
  • By Viknesh Vijayenthiran Guest blogger

A few weeks ago it was revealed that an investor group in Germany was interested in acquiring Fisker for the lowly sum of $25 million, with the intention to start limited production of the Karma extended-range electric sedan and several derivative models at a plant in the U.S. At the time, it was also revealed that the group, whose name is Fritz Nol, had drawn up a full restructuring plan for Fisker, which hasn’t built a car in almost a year and is on the verge of bankruptcy.

Fast forward to today, and it is being reported that Fritz Nol has submitted its formal offer for Fisker to the Department of Energy. The government agency, which is still owed by Fisker most of a $192 million loan, has a say in the ultimate disposition of the company.

Green Car Reports has discovered that a Fritz Nol investor, Ingo Voigt, has posted on Facebook that the group has submitted its offer to the DOE. 

"I am proud to tell you that we just sent our detailed offer including a signed LOI [Letter Of Intent] and short presentation of our restructing plan to the DoE on fax and mail," Voight’s post read. "Now it's time to pray!"

Despite it being almost a year since Fisker last made a car, the company is yet to announce bankruptcy and remains confident a new investor or even a potential buyer can be found. In addition to Fritz Nol, a group led by auto industry veteran Bob Lutz, another led by Fisker’s own founder Henrik Fisker, and Chinese automaker BAIC have all expressed interest, though none have formally announced their intentions. Perhaps Fritz Nol’s offer will encourage the others to also make an offer for Fisker.

Stay tuned for an update.

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