By Tom Hals
Aug 29 (Reuters) - The U.S. Trustee became the latest
government agency to criticize Solyndra LLC's plan to repay its
debts, saying the bankrupt solar panel maker should disclose
whether it is favoring venture capital investors over creditors.
The U.S. Trustee for Delaware, New Jersey and Pennsylvania,
an agent of the Department of Justice, said in a court filing
that Solyndra should provide more information about the
repayment plan, which preserves potential tax benefits for the
two investment funds that are sponsoring the bankruptcy plan.
Earlier this week, the Department of Energy and the Internal
Revenue Service also demanded more details about the tax
benefits. The two agencies said in a court filing that the
Madrone Partners and Argonaut Ventures funds stood to gain more
than $500 million in future tax breaks from the Solyndra
bankruptcy.
At the same time, Solyndra has said in court filings that
many creditors, including the U.S. government, would probably
end up receiving little to nothing of what they are owed. The
government loaned the company $528 million as part of a program
to support clean energy startups.
Debra Grassgreen, a lawyer with Pachulski Stang Ziehl &
Jones, which represents Solyndra, did not immediately respond to
a request for comment. She said earlier this week that the
company would reply to the objections with its own filing at the
bankruptcy court.
The U.S. Trustee, Roberta DeAngelis, said in a filing with
Delaware's bankruptcy court on Tuesday that Solyndra should
explain how its plan complies with the bankruptcy requirement
that creditors be paid in full before stockholders get any
money.
DeAngelis also criticized the company for not providing more
information about the reorganized entity that would exit
bankruptcy, given that Solyndra is liquidating.
Solyndra filed for bankruptcy on Sept. 5 due to plunging
prices for solar panels. The company failed to find a buyer to
keep its operations going and has since sold everything from
inventory to its office equipment to raise money for its
creditors.
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