EV maker CODA files for Chap. 11 bankruptcy; restructuring business around energy storage
01 May 2013
Struggling electric vehicle manufacturer CODA Holdings, Inc. has filed a voluntary petition under Chapter 11 in the US Bankruptcy Court, District of Delaware (Petition Nº 13-11153) to enable the reorganization of its business solely around energy storage based on its Li-ion battery systems. This process is intended to enable CODA to complete a sale, to confirm a plan and to emerge from bankruptcy. CODA expects the sale process to take 45 days to complete.
FCO MA CODA Holdings LLC, an affiliate of Fortress Investment Group, is leading a consortium of lenders intending to provide debtor-in-possession (DIP) financing to enable CODA’s extant energy storage business (CODA Energy) to remain fully operational during the restructuring process.
CODA Holdings has filed a motion with the bankruptcy court for approval of the consortium, or its designee, as the stalking horse bidder in the sale process to acquire the company post-bankruptcy. In addition, CODA will seek to monetize value of its existing automotive business assets.
After concluding a comprehensive review of our strategic options, the Board of Directors, management team and senior lending group have concluded that focusing on the company’s energy storage business presents the best opportunity moving forward. We believe the restructuring process that we have entered into today will enable the company to complete a sale and confirm a Plan that maximizes the value of its assets, serving the best interests of our stakeholders.
—Phil Murtaugh, Chief Executive Officer, CODA Holdings, Inc.
CODA diversified its business and formed CODA Energy two years ago. CODA Energy’s products are based on the same core technology—including its proprietary battery management and thermal management systems—in CODA’s electric vehicles, but adapted for stationary energy storage applications.
CODA Energy designs and builds scalable, custom energy storage solutions optimized for generation, distribution and behind-the-meter applications for commercial, residential and industrial end users.
CODA’s legal advisor in connection with the restructuring is White & Case LLP. Emerald Capital Advisors serves as its Chief Restructuring Officer and restructuring advisor, and Houlihan Lokey serves as its investment banker for the restructuring. Sidley Austin LLP is serving as FCO MA CODA Holdings LLC’s legal advisor.
Is this a mini-GM trick?
Posted by: HarveyD | 01 May 2013 at 06:48 AM
Wow, what a shock LMAO!!!
They took the ugliest car made in the 90's and tried to convert it to an EV and charge a LARGE premium for it...then get surprised when nobody wanted it!
Posted by: DaveD | 01 May 2013 at 07:06 AM
There's no business like the electric car business.
Posted by: Mannstein | 01 May 2013 at 07:07 AM
HarveyD, Coda didn't own enough politicians for a 'mini-GM trick'.
Posted by: pat | 01 May 2013 at 09:15 AM
@Mannstein, I can't complain. I bought Tesla @34.90. :D
Posted by: Arne | 01 May 2013 at 09:46 AM
Anne, congrads!!
Posted by: pat | 01 May 2013 at 10:20 AM
With 'Fox-like' objectivity, it is hard to list 2000's ICE stocks performance.
Posted by: pat | 01 May 2013 at 12:08 PM
Not a surprise to me, I never believed in their model, it was flawed from the beginning
Posted by: Treehugger | 01 May 2013 at 02:51 PM
Few here seem to like each EV when it comes out and the rest don't like them when they fail.
Posted by: ToppaTom | 01 May 2013 at 08:18 PM
I like my PHEV, but I'd like it better if I could override some of its defaults in favor of my preferences.
Posted by: Engineer-Poet | 01 May 2013 at 09:18 PM
Congrats to Anne and E-P!
So Sorry, Coda, R.I.P! (Survival of the fittest!)
Posted by: Roger Pham | 01 May 2013 at 11:57 PM
It is quite simple: Coda ignored the 'Elon Masterplan' to their detriment. You can not start a new car company with a hand-built mid-price low-volume car.
Detroit Electric seems to have gotten the message. They had a cheap sedan a la Coda in the works for quite some time but have recently adopted the 'Elon Masterplan'. But as their Roadster lookalike is overpriced, I fear for their fate too. They have a short window of opportunity until the new Tesla Roadster comes out.
Posted by: Arne | 02 May 2013 at 06:14 AM
"So Sorry, Coda, R.I.P! (Survival of the fittest!)"
http://www.patternstocks.com/2009/03/gm-general-motors-long-term-charts.html
Posted by: pat | 02 May 2013 at 07:10 AM
Coda was not the first and will not be the last. As others said, one of Coda's problems was that it tried to sell a car that was totally dull and had no character. I am surprised that the Leaf sells as well as it does. I parked next to one the other day and hoped that it's ugliness was not contagious. Telsa at least made and makes vehicles that have some desirable characteristics. However, they are not making money and I will be surprised if they stay quasi-independent and make it long term. Already they are partially owned by Toyota.
Posted by: sd | 02 May 2013 at 08:52 AM
@sd, Tesla is making money(all COTY 2013 production already sold) and many companies have investments from/in other companies.
Posted by: pat | 02 May 2013 at 09:29 AM
@pat
Tesla reported a yearly loss of -$3.701 per share and a quarterly loss of -$0.7902 per share for the past quarter (02-20-2013). They have never shown a quarterly profit. It is probably to their advantage that they are partially owned by Toyota. I think that their designs look good and their engineering may be good but this is a very difficult business to succeed in. I wish them well but I will still be surprised if they make it.
Posted by: sd | 02 May 2013 at 10:28 AM
Some of millions from 'Tesla profit' search..
http://www.forbes.com/sites/markrogowsky/2013/04/01/exiting-the-red-zone-tesla-turns-its-first-profit-and-looks-to-go-long/
http://americablog.com/2013/04/electric-car-tesla-profit-loa.html
It must be (only) the Fox News entertainers saying 'Romney won' 'Tesla lost' again..
Posted by: pat | 02 May 2013 at 11:32 AM
@pat
I did not get my information from Fox News. I got it from the research section of Charles Schwab and Tesla has never reported a quarterly profit. Maybe, they are on track to report a profit next quarter but so far it has not happened. If they do and succeed long term, good for them but they have been in business for 10 years without a profit. Also, I am not a fan of Romney and his vulture capitalist friends.
Posted by: sd | 02 May 2013 at 12:47 PM
@sd, then what might have been true the months prior to 02-20-2013 is not true of Tesla now.
"I did not get my information from Fox News." "Also, I am not a fan of Romney and his vulture capitalist friends."
Sorry, Fox/Mitt was the the only crew I've noticed consistently wrong, abusing facts, and opposite the internet and the 99%.
Posted by: kelly | 02 May 2013 at 01:56 PM
@sd,
You are hilarious.
You should look away from your spreadsheet and out of the window. What is happening in the real world with Tesla can not be deducted from a bunch of quarterly profit/loss statements.
Posted by: Arne | 03 May 2013 at 06:04 AM
"I like my PHEV, but ... "
My wife loves her Corolla.
Posted by: Kit P | 03 May 2013 at 02:05 PM
@Anne,
You are hilarious.
I live in "flyover country" which is also part of the real world. If I look out my window, I mostly see 4x4 pickups which is what I typically drive. Today, I had to use it to pick up welding tanks. Do not try that in your Prius or whatever you drive. There are posters in the welding supply houses showing what happens transporting welding gases in enclosed vehicles. It is not pretty and typically you do not survive.
Anyway, after a while, what is happening in the real world with Tesla will be deduced from a bunch of quarterly profit/loss statements. I am currently involved in a high tech start-up involving agricultural equipment using electric servo drives and know a little about business. We save fuel using the electric drives instead of the typical hydraulics. I also know a few things about battery electric cars having worked on an electric car project in 1968 while I was in graduate school at MIT. mit.edu/evt/CleanAirCarRace.html I have a doctorate in Mechanical Engineering from MIT and also took some business courses at Harvard Business School just for fun. I wish Telsa well and they have done some things right especially compared with CODA but it is a hard business for a start-up. I do think that any start-up US car company has succeeded since at least the 1930's.
Go ahead and answer. You can have the last word.
Posted by: sd | 03 May 2013 at 05:14 PM
“I have a doctorate in Mechanical Engineering from MIT ”
Too bad you could not get a practicality education in engineering in 4 years. We have a VP of marketing with a phd from MIT. Whenever someone tells me about their degree from MIT I know they are going to say something that has nothing to do with the engineering they learned. Our VP likes to talk about the hard time he had finding a job because times were lean. That year I got out og the navy and got 13 job offers out of 13 interviews.
“I had to use it to pick up welding tanks. ”
An MIT phd driving a 4wd with compressed gas bottles. That is scary.
When I see a Pious or a 4wd on the road, I hag back from a safe distance to see what the loose nut behind the wheel will do next.
Posted by: Kit P | 04 May 2013 at 02:23 PM
they never contacted me for an idea or a project
Posted by: A D | 05 May 2013 at 05:41 AM