Chinese firm approved to buy US battery maker

Authorities with Wanxiang, a Chinese auto parts maker, on Tuesday confirmed that they had won approval from the US government to proceed with its bid to purchase a bankrupt electric car battery maker.

The Committee on Foreign Investment in the US (CFIUS), a group of government agencies chaired by the US Treasury Department, has approved the sale of A123 Systems Inc., the lithium-iron battery maker with financing from the US government, Pin Ni, head of Wanxiang US subsidiary, told Xinhua Tuesday.

Wanxiang US subsidiary is based in Elgin, Illinois.

A123 filed for bankruptcy in 2012 and was sold at an auction supervised by the US Bankruptcy Court in Delaware.

Delaware Bankruptcy Court Judge Kevin Carey on December 11 approved Wanxiang's purchase, which was made through an auction held in Chicago on December6-7. Wanxiang won the bid over three other American companies. The deal excluded A123's contract with the US military and government, as some US military leaders and politicians worry that sensitive technology will slip from the US into foreign hands.