Creditors of A123 Systems Inc. are seeking to hire a lobbying firm in an attempt to stop political forces from derailing a $256.6 million sale deal, Dow Jones Daily Bankruptcy Review reported yesterday. The company's unsecured creditors' committee wants court permission to bring on Capitol Counsel LLC, whose professionals are "among the most seasoned lobbyists in Washington," according to the committee, as it seeks to ensure a sale that recently won a bankruptcy judge's blessing remains intact. A123, a government-backed battery maker that has yet to turn a profit, received court approval on Dec. 11 to sell most of its assets to China's Wanxiang America Corp. The proposed buyer beat out rival bidder and stalking horse Johnson Controls Inc. at auction, but the fight for the assets did not end there. The sale to Wanxiang remains subject to the approval of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, a government body led by Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner that reviews deals that could result in the control of a U.S. business by a foreign person or company.
