Britishvolt Ltd’s administrator selected Australian startup Recharge Industries as the preferred bidder to acquire the majority of the insolvent UK battery firm’s business and assets.
(Bloomberg) — Britishvolt Ltd’s administrator selected Australian startup Recharge Industries as the preferred bidder to acquire the majority of the insolvent UK battery firm’s business and assets.
The acquisition is expected to take place within the next seven days, according to a statement Monday by EY, Britishvolt’s administrator. Recharge Industries is a subsidiary of Scale Facilitation Partners LLC.
Once considered the UK’s best shot for a homegrown electric-vehicle battery supplier, Britishvolt went into bankruptcy last month after failing to identify any potential rescuers. The company had grand plans for an enormous £3.8 billion ($4.7 billion) plant in northern England that it said would create around 3,000 jobs.
The decision “follows a process conducted by EY that involved the consideration of multiple approaches from interested parties and numerous offers received,” EY said.
Recharge Industries had submitted one of the two bids received for Britishvolt by the time the deadline for proposals had ended last week, people familiar with the matter said at the time. The other bid came from a consortium of former Britishvolt investors.
In addition to battery research and production via Recharge Industries, Scale Facilitation also invests in medical technology and artificial intelligence. Recharge Industries is currently developing Australia’s first large-scale lithium-ion cell production facility, according to its website.
“After a competitive and rigorous process, we’re confident our proposal will deliver a strong outcome for all involved,” David Collard, chief executive officer of Scale Facilitation and founder of Recharge Industries, said in a statement.
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