Molycorp Inc. has failed to attract any offers for the entire company as a first-round bidding deadline approaches, Bloomberg News reported on Friday. The potential buyers, mostly rare-earths producers and processors based outside the U.S., are instead looking to take on part or all of the bankrupt rare-earths miner’s overseas business. Those bids do not include its idled Mountain Pass mine in California, according to people with knowledge of the matter. Offers could still emerge in a later round. The sale, which was announced on Nov. 3 and is part of a reorganization plan, has been tumultuous, with Molycorp’s lower-ranking creditors accusing the company of running a “specious sale process.” The contending creditors, which are negotiating with the company in mediation sessions ordered by the judge, argued that the proposal gives veto power to Oaktree Capital Management LLC, Molycorp’s senior lender, and makes it impossible to persuade potential buyers to join an auction. The company, which is advised by Miller Buckfire & Co. and AlixPartners LLP, said last month that it would sell the entire company or certain assets, or reorganize the business if a sale doesn’t take place.
