A123 Systems Inc., a government-backed battery manufacturer that has yet to turn a profit, is set to be the unlikely object of a bidding war when its assets hit the auction block today, Dow Jones Daily Bankruptcy Review reported Tuesday. A123, which was awarded nearly $250 million in grants from the Department of Energy in 2009 to build a factory in Michigan, filed for chapter 11 protection in October with a plan to sell its automotive-business assets, including the plant, to Milwaukee-based auto-parts manufacturer Johnson Controls Inc. Since then Wanxiang America Corp., a Chinese-owned auto-parts company, has submitted a competing bid, and other potential suitors have expressed interest in various parts of the company.
