Lordstown Motors is back in the headlines as some familiar faces have reentered the picture three months after the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
According to an SEC filing, when Lordstown began voluntary proceedings under Chapter 11 in June, the company’s “selling entities” approved an auction to sell the company’s assets.
The bankruptcy court approved the bidding procedures, and the selling entities received a qualifying bid from a limited liability company called LAS Capital. LAS Capital has no affiliation with Lordstown Motors. It was, however, founded by Lordstown’s founder and former CEO Steve Burns. Former Lordstown CFO Julio Rodriguez is also reportedly involved as the sellers are also considering him an indirect manager of LAS Capital.
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LAS Capital’s bid was the only qualifying one the selling entities received, and an asset purchase agreement was executed for a purchase price of $10 million in cash. As a result, Burns and LAS Capital agreed to acquire assets related to Lordstown’s design, production and sale of electric light-duty vehicles.
The next step will be when the bankruptcy court considers the approval of the purchase and the transaction in a hearing on October 18.
While their names are historically tied to Lordstown, Burns and Rodriguez resigned from their respective positions in June 2021, and, according to the SEC filing, they ceased employment and have had no management roles with Lordstown since then.
The resignations came after Lordstown’s board investigated allegations that Burns and other executives lied about $1.4 billion in preorders for the company’s electric pickup truck, the Endurance.
It is unclear exactly what assets Burns will gain as electronics maker Foxconn owns Lordstown’s Ohio auto assembly plant. Foxconn bought the plant from Lordstown for $230 million, but that relationship then grew sour in 2023 when Lordstown filed a lawsuit against Hon Hai Technology Group, which includes Foxconn.
