"This bid, which emerged just before a hearing Tuesday, kicked off a series of rapid-fire meetings between Luminar's remaining leadership team and its lawyers, a "special transaction committee" formed to navigate the bankruptcy, and eventually the company's full board. While the bid was "substantially higher," there were "infirmities" in the offer, according to a lawyer for Luminar. Luminar ultimately decided to stick with the $33 million bid it received from a company called MicroVision during an auction on Monday."
"The identity of who submitted this long-shot offer was not revealed, but Luminar's lawyer said it was an "insider purchaser," meaning it likely came from company founder Austin Russell. Russell had already tried to buy the company late last year before it slid into bankruptcy (and after he abruptly resigned as CEO). Representatives of his new firm Russell AI Labs previously told TechCrunch he was interested in submitting a bid on the lidar business during the bankruptcy case. (Those same representatives did not respond to a request for comment Wednesday.)"
Luminar received a late, unidentified bid that substantially exceeded a leading $33 million offer for its lidar business, prompting urgent meetings of its leadership, legal team, an appointed special transaction committee and the full board. Luminar's lawyer described the late proposal as from an "insider purchaser" and said the offer had "infirmities." Luminar decided to accept MicroVision's $33 million bid after an auction, and the bankruptcy judge approved the sale. The company's semiconductor division was sold to Quantum Computing Inc. Transactions are expected to close in coming weeks, after which Luminar will cease to exist.
Read at TechCrunch
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