Electric car maker Coda wins approval to sell assets to Fortress

U.S. electric car maker Coda Automotive has won bankruptcy court approval to sell its assets for $25 million to a group of lenders led by Fortress Investment Group , a filing showed on Tuesday.

Under the deal, Fortress group will pay $1.7 million in cash, and the remainder will come by way of a "credit bid," in which Fortress will bid for the assets of Coda using debt owed instead of cash.

Coda said in its May 1 bankruptcy petition that it is exiting the car business to focus on the development and sale of energy storage systems through its subsidiary Coda Energy.

"(The ruling) will allow us to emerge in a stronger position to develop our core technology, forge stronger relationships with our partners, and ultimately, enable us to execute our business plan in the growing energy storage sector," the company said in an emailed statement.

Earlier on Tuesday, two affiliates of the electric-car maker - Lio Energy Systems Holdings and Miles Electric Vehicles - filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

The case is in re Coda Holdings Inc, Case No. 13-11153, U.S. Bankruptcy Court, District of Delaware.

(Reporting by Mridhula Raghavan and Sakthi Prasad in Bangalore, and Paul Lienert in Detroit; Editing by Edwina Gibbs)