A mysterious investor from London has called on a Delaware bankruptcy judge to halt the sale of EV Startup Canoo’s assets to the CEO, calling it a “flawed” process.
Charles Gerson, a UK-based investor with no obvious connection to the EV startup, provided $20 million for Canoo’s assets, according to filings. The lawyer representing Gerson filed a motion to leave the sale on Friday, claiming he had offered a “much better offer” to that of Canoe CEO Anthony Aquila. (Aquila’s bid also includes owing about $11 million in loans to his own financial company.)
Gerson was told by the bankruptcy trustee that his offer would be considered, and according to filings he was said to have had it until the end of April to finalise details. Two days after Gerson allegedly said this, the trustee “had proceeded with a sales hearing” and closed the sale of the canoe assets to Aquila. The sale ended on April 11th. The bankruptcy trustee did not respond to a request for comment.
Gerson isn’t just protesting sales. Harbinger Motors is an EV truck startup created by many former Canoo employees and ultimately opposed sales. The bankruptcy judge dismissed the objection. Harbinger filed an appeal.
There is little information about Garson Online. His LinkedIn profile says he is in London and is involved in real estate investments. He is listed as the director of a real estate investment company called Garland Holdings Limited in the UK, according to the national business registry.
The empty allegations do not explain why Garson is interested in Canoo or whether other investors are involved. Gerson provided a declaration in support of the allegations of vacancies, including 23 exhibits. However, all of these documents were submitted under seal. Gerson’s attorneys did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
“[Garson] Based on communication between the trustee and his lawyer, he believed that he had enough time to submit his excellent bid. Relying on such communication, Movant either did not oppose the sale or officially
According to the submission, he will continue to finalise his offer and submit competing bids while continuing to request explanations from the trustee.
“The trustee has decided to seek court approval for the transaction, despite a clear, excellent offer being actually thrown at him,” Aquila filed. Aquila’s attorneys did not respond to requests for comment.
Eight political parties signed the NDAS to assess Canoo’s assets prior to sale. He said only a small portion approached the bid, including a group that said bankruptcy trustees could raise concerns with the US Foreign Investment Committee for “unspecified) “foreign ownership.” It is not clear whether Gerson’s bid was something the trustee mentioned.
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