Bankrupt electric truck maker Nikola Corp. is seeking court approval to sell valuable environmental credits through a specialized broker, with truck manufacturer PACCAR Inc. stepping in as the stalking horse bidder with an offer of nearly $9 million in cash.
In a motion filed Thursday in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware, Nikola asked Judge Thomas M. Horan to authorize the immediate employment of STX Commodities LLC to market and sell environmental credits earned from the company's production of zero-emission and near-zero-emission vehicles.
The filing represents Nikola's latest effort to maximize value for creditors after filing for Chapter 11 protection on February 19. The Phoenix-based electric truck pioneer has already completed several asset sales, including a $32 million transaction for its manufacturing facility in Coolidge, Arizona, and corporate headquarters.
"The Debtors, in consultation with the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors, determined in a sound exercise of their business judgment, that a standalone marketing and sale process by a specialized commodities broker would maximize value of the Environmental Credits for the benefit of the Debtors' economic stakeholders," the company stated in its motion.
The credits being sold include greenhouse gas emission credits (GHG Credits), zero-emissions vehicle credits regulated under California's Advanced Clean Trucks program (ACT Credits), and other environmental compliance assets. These credits are valuable because they can be bought by other manufacturers to meet regulatory emissions requirements, creating a secondary market for the assets.
PACCAR's stalking horse bid of $8,969,558 covers only a subset of the available credits — specifically, the ACT Credits and GHG Credits. Under the proposed stalking horse agreement, the credits would be sold in three separate groups with staggered closings due to regulatory requirements.
"To ensure the Debtors maximize value, STX will market the Environmental Credits (including the Stalking Horse Environmental Credits) through the RFP Process consistent with industry practice in search of a higher and/or better offer(s)," the motion states.
Rather than conducting a traditional auction, Nikola proposes using an RFP (Request for Proposal) Process through STX Commodities to solicit competitive bids. The motion seeks approval of bid procedures and protections for PACCAR as the stalking horse bidder, including a 3% break-up fee ($269,087) and expense reimbursement up to $100,000 if another bidder ultimately prevails.
"The Stalking Horse APA provides a 'floor bid' by the Stalking Horse Bidder for a subset of the Environmental Credits," Nikola explained in its filing. "The Stalking Horse Bid will enhance the bidding process by providing a floor that prospective bidders must clear and ensuring that only serious, financially capable bidders participate in the RFP Process."
Under the proposed timeline, interested parties would have until May 19 to submit bids, with a sale hearing scheduled for May 30, subject to the court's availability.
STX would be compensated on a commission basis, starting with a fixed retainer fee of $80,000 for sales up to the stalking horse bid amount. For sales exceeding that threshold, STX would earn an 8% commission on amounts between $8.9 million and $20 million, 6% on amounts between $20 million and $40 million, and 4% on proceeds exceeding $40 million.
Nikola was once a high-flying electric vehicle startup that went public through a SPAC merger in 2020, reaching a market valuation of more than $30 billion. The company's fortunes declined after a short-seller report questioned its technology claims and its founder Trevor Milton was later convicted of securities fraud.
The bankruptcy case is being administered in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware as Case No. 25-10258. Nikola is represented by Potter Anderson & Corroon LLP and Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP.
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