Big Name Investors Behind Obama’s Failed Green Tech Bet First in Line to Recoup Losses
Republicans are already dancing on the grave of Solyndra, the solar panel manufacturer that received a $535 million federal loan in 2009 and collapsed on Wednesday. Here’s more music they can dance to: Sources tell me the Obama administration restructured the loan this winter, so taxpayers probably won’t even be the first creditors to get paid after Solyndra files for bankruptcy next week. The first $75 million will go to two Solyndra investors who poured in extra cash when the company nearly went bust in January. And one of them is a venture associated with the billionaire George Kaiser, an Obama campaign bundler.
The other investor is a partnership associated with the Walton family, which tends to lean Republican. And public filings suggest that Kaiser-linked funds had sunk at least $320 million into Solyndra before adding the secured financing; they’re taking a bath along with the rest of us. “If this was a sweetheart deal, it was the worst sweetheart deal ever,” one official quipped.
So why did the administration agree to the restructuring? The short answer, in poker terms, is that it felt pot-committed. It had already made a big bet; it didn’t want to fold if there was still a chance of winning. The slightly longer answer is that administration officials thought (as I did) that Solyndra was back on track, and that giving the company a new lease on life would benefit taxpayers even if it ultimately failed. A fuller explanation culled from government documents follows
The other investor is a partnership associated with the Walton family, which tends to lean Republican. And public filings suggest that Kaiser-linked funds had sunk at least $320 million into Solyndra before adding the secured financing; they’re taking a bath along with the rest of us. “If this was a sweetheart deal, it was the worst sweetheart deal ever,” one official quipped.
So why did the administration agree to the restructuring? The short answer, in poker terms, is that it felt pot-committed. It had already made a big bet; it didn’t want to fold if there was still a chance of winning. The slightly longer answer is that administration officials thought (as I did) that Solyndra was back on track, and that giving the company a new lease on life would benefit taxpayers even if it ultimately failed. A fuller explanation culled from government documents follows
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