Fisker Automotive Inc., the cash-strapped maker of a battery-powered sports car, recruited investment bank Evercore Partners Inc. to find potential partners or investors, the company's chief executive said on Friday, according to a Wall Street Journal blog. The Anaheim, Calif.-based car company hired Evercore earlier this year when it became clear that the company needed a partnership with another automaker to lower production costs and shore up its finances. Fisker's search for new capital could result in the sale of the company. Evercore, which is known for advising companies like General Motors Co. through bankruptcy restructuring, wasn't hired to chart a course for a chapter 11 filing for Fisker, but rather to seek out possible buyers and investors. The company's board has reviewed the option of seeking bankruptcy protection after a series of setbacks that led Fisker to halt production of its $110,000 Karma sports car in July. Fisker is seeking investors primarily in China and parts of Europe, where company executives believe there is stronger interest in electric cars than in the U.S.
