Dive Brief:
- Fisker Group filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in Delaware on Tuesday after months of financial turmoil, according to a press release.
- The embattled electric vehicle maker said it’s in advanced discussions with financial stakeholders regarding debtor-in-possession financing and the sale of its assets.
- In the press release, a company spokesperson said the company remains proud of its achievements, but faced "various market and macroeconomic headwinds that have impacted our ability to operate efficiently."
Dive Insight:
In January, Fisker announced it would sell its vehicles through dealers and abandon its direct-to-consumer sales model in a last-ditch effort to juice sales and revenue.
But in February, less than two weeks after the New York Stock Exchange threatened to delist the company for failing to maintain a share price above $1, Fisker reported losing $762 million in 2023.
With its survival in question, Fisker announced it was seeking a partnership with a major automaker and slashing its staff by 15%. The next day, Reuters reported that Fisker was closing in on a deal with Nissan. That deal fell through, and on March 18, Fisker announced it was pausing production for six weeks while it tried to raise $150 million.
The EV maker appointed John DiDonato, managing director of Huron Consulting Group, as chief restructuring officer on April 25. He has full authority over the Fisker’s budget and any decisions surrounding the sale of the company or its assets.
DiDonato signed the bankruptcy filing, which states that Fisker has between $500 million and $1 billion in assets and between $100 million and $500 million in liabilities. The creditors with the largest unsecured claims include Adobe, Bertrandt US, Avnet, Google and SAP America.
Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection enables a business to restructure its creditor obligations to keep the business afloat and pay back its debts over time. In Fisker’s case, the company aims to sell its assets and use the proceeds from that sale to cover its outstanding debt.
Fisker said it intends to file certain customary motions with the bankruptcy court to ensure its reduced operations are able to continue, including paying employee wages and benefits, preserving certain customer programs and compensating needed vendors on a go-forward basis, according to the release.
Michael Brady contributed to this story.
