Posted on 09/06/2011 4:14:52 PM PDT by SmithL
Solyndra, the solar-cell company whose collapse last week triggered a national debate over green jobs, filed its bankruptcy papers Monday, listing $859 million in assets and $784 million in secured loans.
The company's biggest lender was the federal government, which loaned Solyndra $528 million in 2009 to build a new factory near its Fremont headquarters. As part of an effort to boost renewable power companies, the government offered Solyndra as much as $535 million for the project, but the factory cost slightly less to build than expected.
The government will not, however, be the first creditor in line during Solyndra's bankruptcy proceedings. A $69 million loan this spring from the company's private investors will be repaid before taxpayers get their money back, according to a creditors' agreement cited in the bankruptcy filing.
Solyndra's former employees, most of whom were laid off last week, also hope to receive money from the company.
Research and development engineer Peter Kohlstadt filed a class-action lawsuit against the company Friday, arguing that Solyndra violated California's WARN Act (Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification) by laying off employees without 60-days' notice. The suit, filed in the U.S. District Court for Northern California, seeks 60-days' pay, 401(k) contributions and health benefits for the more than 1,100 employees affected, who were let go without severance.
(Excerpt) Read more at sfgate.com ...
Will they sue the US?
The lawyers always get paid first.
“A $69 million loan this spring from the company’s private investors will be repaid before taxpayers get their money back, according to a creditors’ agreement cited in the bankruptcy filing. “
Who the hell agreed to this? Private investors should be the FIRST wiped out, well before losses to the taxpayer are put into play.
Welcome to the new economy. Government shells out lots of money for flim-flam, “green jobs” and in return gets nada, except for a lot of red in the national balance sheet.
Guess they just want their turn at the taxpayer teat.
Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/09/06/BUF81L0R1P.DTL#ixzz1XDZddqO4
That's a hell of a deal for Obama money bundler George Kaiser, isn't it? Invest tens of millions in a company, have the government build it for you, and when it fails, you're first in line to get your money back while the taxpayers eat the loss. I'd like that type of deal. Invest my money in new technologies, have the government fund the lion's share of the costs, and if it fails I get my money back. If it doesn't fail, I see my investment skyrocket, while the government only gets its loan back. I want hearing on this, and I want to know where the money went and who gave this the green light.
What could go wrong?
Green energy -- it's not just a job, it's a government entitlement!
I wonder how much the CEO walked away with.
“A $69 million loan this spring from the company’s private investors will be repaid before taxpayers get their money back, according to a creditors’ agreement cited in the bankruptcy filing. “
Who the hell agreed to this? Private investors should be the FIRST wiped out, well before losses to the taxpayer are put into play.
...Yep. This story is getting worse by the day.
1/2 billion for a factory. Monstrous overhead for
such a niche company. No real bank or VC entity would
allow that.
Private investors would not have invested in the company otherwise.
If private investors could be convinced that the company's business plan was viable, Solyndra would not have needed taxpayer money in the first place.
Naw, he's a friend of OBummer, he *ran* away with it.
What do you want to bet their media room has a 50 foot long slate conference table, dozens of corinthian leather chairs with individual controls built in, an 80” LCD and the best sound system that money can buy?
That makes it WORSE, not better! If nobody in their right mind would put their own money on this, why in the world were tax dollars thrown in?
Smart CEO’s, when they’re paid shares, typically pull their money out of the company they are running and put the money elsewhere so they aren’t at risk, nor are they paying taxes on that money.
Excellent question.
The only outcome of their suing will be the collection of unemployment checks.... =.=
WHO got the almost HALF a BILLION DOLLARS of OUR MONEY????? The OWNERS or the WORKERS??
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