Here's another earlier story from May (by Deepa Seetharaman, who has really done the best job of covering Fisker):
BUYING OUT THE DOE
Henrik Fisker founded the company with Barny Koehler in 2007 and together they raised about $1.2 billion in private funds. In 2009, Fisker won a $529 million DOE loan in 2009 as part of a U.S. government program to promote advanced vehicles.
Fisker got $192 million in funds before the DOE froze Fisker's credit line in mid-2011 after Fisker missed key performance targets. The resulting cash crunch prompted Fisker to overhaul its management team and look for buyers.
The terms of the loan have been a source of friction between the DOE and Fisker. Prospective buyers have been unwilling to assume the obligations spelled out in the loans, sources close to the company have previously said.
Last year, Fisker tried to refinance the federal loans through a bond offering that did not gain traction, according to sources and internal DOE documents released last month during the congressional hearing. In April, the DOE seized $21 million from Fisker's coffers to repay a portion of the loan.
Investors from Europe are working with Hong Kong businessman Li, who is chairman and chief executive of the Pacific Century Group, to buy out the DOE's position in Fisker, most likely at a discount, sources said on Tuesday.
This measure would allow Fisker to wrest free of the loan's current obligations and allow the DOE to recover more than they might get in a bankruptcy. But this route may open the DOE to criticism and raises questions about Fisker's future strategy.
"That's not that uncommon in the financial circles," Vickrey said. "If you can settle that debt at discount and sell the assets to another automaker, it might make sense as an investment.
(Vickrey is an Analyst at Gradient analytics).
So again this story suggests avoiding bankruptcy on the one hand, but on the other hand it suggests a sale of assets, and what are those exactly? There is rumored to be a Valhalla inventory of cars in Europe (at a generous $50K wholesale each that could amount to of $10M), parts in Finland (value negligible, except to owners), and "intellectual property" (valuation = eye of the beholder, but probably also negligible).
Still though, no bankruptcy means there should still be a warranty, but I think owners will need to fight to have a set-aside from any sale proceeds to satisfy future claims.