EV truck maker Harbinger accuses Canoo of hiding assets in bankruptcy sale

Electric trucking company Harbinger has filed an objection to the sale of Canoo’s assets to its CEO, potentially throwing a wrench into the two-month-old bankruptcy case.

Harbinger’s objection, filed late Friday, accuses Canoo of hiding certain assets from the sale process, including what the startup purchased from another bankrupt EV company, Arrival. It also accuses Canoo of listing assets that Harbinger believes the startup did not actually own (though it did not specify which ones). Harbinger said it came to this determination after it considered buying the assets and gained access to the virtual data room for potential bidders.

What’s more, Harbinger says the sale process has so far “unfairly favored Mr. Aquila,” referring to Canoo’s CEO Anthony Aquila, who reached an agreement to buy the assets in early March. Harbinger claims the bankruptcy trustee accepted Aquila’s offer without widely marketing the sale of the assets or obtaining an appraisal.

The objection is the latest twist in the rocky relationship between Harbinger and Canoo. Harbinger was created by a handful of former Canoo employees in 2021. Canoo sued Harbinger in late 2022, alleging that those employees absconded with trade secrets.

That trade secret case was still active when Canoo filed for bankruptcy in January. In fact, one of the things Aquila is purchasing along with the assets is an interest in any settlement Harbinger may wind up paying to Canoo.

One particular clause of the purchase agreement states that Aquila and the trustee have effective approval over any settlement in the Harbinger case. Harbinger argues this could violate the Department of Justice’s handbook for Chapter 7 trustees.

The trustee in the case, Jeoffrey Burtch, and a lawyer for Canoo did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Lawyers representing Aquila and Harbinger declined to comment.