The Obama administration said Friday it will lose $139 million on a loan to struggling electric car maker Fisker Automotive Inc. after selling part of the loan to a private investor that immediately took the company into bankruptcy.
Hybrid Technology LLC, the California car maker's new owner, said it plans to keep Fisker operating after it emerges from bankruptcy.
The $139 million loss is the largest in the Obama administration's green energy loan program since the 2011 failure of solar panel maker Solyndra. The government lost $528 million in the Solyndra collapse, triggering sharp Republican criticism of the loan program and President Barack Obama's investments in green energy.
The Energy Department said it had recovered about $28 million before selling the remainder of the loan to Hybrid on Friday for $25 million. Hybrid is owned by Hong Kong billionaire Richard Li.
The department's actions, along with the sale, mean the Energy Department has protected nearly three-quarters of its original commitment to Fisker, Energy spokesman Bill Gibbons said Friday.
"While this result is not what anyone hoped, the ($139 million loss) represents less than 2 percent of our advanced vehicle loans, and less than one-half of 1 percent of our overall loan program portfolio" of more than $30 billion, Gibbons said.
The $139 million loss is the largest in the Obama administration's green energy loan program since the 2011 failure of solar panel maker Solyndra. The government lost $528 million in the Solyndra collapse, triggering sharp Republican criticism of the loan program and President Barack Obama's investments in green energy.
The Energy Department awarded Fisker a half-billion-dollar loan guarantee in 2009, but suspended it in 2011, after Fisker failed to meet a series of benchmarks. Fisker had received $192 million before the loan was frozen.
The department's actions, along with the sale, mean the Energy Department has protected nearly three-quarters of its original commitment to Fisker, Energy spokesman Bill Gibbons said Friday.
"While this result is not what anyone hoped, the ($139 million loss) represents less than 2 percent of our advanced vehicle loans, and less than one-half of 1 percent of our overall loan program portfolio" of more than $30 billion, Gibbons said.
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