The U.S. Department of Energy said yesterday that it has taken $21 million out of a reserve account set up as part of a loan to luxury plug-in car maker Fisker Automotive Inc. in anticipation of a default on a payment the company owes on a federal loan, the Wall Street Journal reported today. The Energy Department said that it "recouped the company's approximately $21 million reserve account—funds that came from the company's sales and investors, not our loan—and will apply those funds to the loan." Fisker's chief executive, Tony Posawatz, said in March that the payment on the $192 million the company borrowed under a federal advanced technology vehicle program was due Monday. Fisker's fate is uncertain. The Anaheim, Calif., company has said that it is trying to find a way to continue operating through a new owner, which would require a resolution with the U.S. government. Fisker has hired bankruptcy attorneys Kirkland & Ellis LLP.
