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Delphi says received no new bids in auction

NEW YORK
Fri Jul 10, 2009 5:48pm EDT
A general view of the Delphi Flint East assembly plant in Flint, Michigan June 22, 2007. Bankrupt autoparts maker Delphi Corp said on Friday that it had received no additional bids for the company as part of a court-mandated auction that seeks to create alternatives to a previous deal it reached with a private equity firm. REUTERS/Rebecca Cook

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Bankrupt autoparts maker Delphi Corp said on Friday that it had received no additional bids for the company as part of a court-mandated auction that seeks to create alternatives to a previous deal it reached with a private equity firm.

Delphi, which has been trying to emerge from bankruptcy, was told in June that it had to hold an auction after it, Platinum Equity and its former parent General Motors inked a deal creditors said was too generous to the buyers.

Competing bids for the company had been due at 11:00 a.m. EST (1500 GMT) on Friday.

Lenders wishing to make a so-called "credit bid" -- or making an offer by swapping debt for ownership -- still have until July 17 to submit a bid.

The auction for Delphi is due to be held on July 17 and a sale hearing is set for July 23, according to court documents.

"We are confident that Platinum Equity's proposal will be validated as the best and most comprehensive solution to ensure the long-term health of Delphi," Platinum Equity said in a statement Friday afternoon.

Investors Carl Icahn, who was said to be working with Federal Mogul, and Wilbur Ross had been expected to make separate bids, sources said previously. Federal Mogul and Wilbur Ross were not immediately available for comment.

At least six suitors in all had considered bidding for the company, sources said previously, although TRW, Blackstone Group LP and Appaloosa Management had decided not to bid.

The company may receive a credit bid from a group of its "debtor-in-possession" financing lenders, including Elliott Associates, Monarch Alternative Capital and Silver Point Finance LLC, according to a source familiar with the situation, who said the group is still considering a bid.

Delphi filed for bankruptcy protection in 2005.

In early June during a court hearing, the company's lenders objected to the deal, in which Platinum planned to put up $250 million for the company, saying they had not had a chance for a similar deal.

The case is In re: Delphi Corp et al. U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Southern District of New York, No. 05-44481.

(Reporting by Jui Chakravorty and Caroline Humer; additional reporting by Phil Wahba; Editing Bernard Orr)



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