Solyndra's Private Investors Could Bank 'Hundreds of Millions' in Tax Benefits

Two of Solyndra’s private investors could bank millions in future tax breaks, according to media reports.

The Wall Street Journal reports that investment firms Argonaut Ventures and Madrone Partners, which backed the failed solar plant, are set to create an unrelated, reorganized company under a proposed Chapter 11 bankruptcy plan. Under the restructuring plan, the two firms would benefit from Solyndra’s operating losses by avoiding “hundreds of millions” in tax liabilities, according to bankruptcy court documents.

If Argonaut and Madrone’s post-bankruptcy company becomes profitable, it would deduct Solyndra’s losses against their profits, cutting their tax bills, according to the Wall Street Journal. 

The U.S. Department of Energy, which gave Solyndra a $528 loan, will lose most of what it put into the company under the Chapter 11 plan, the newspaper reports.

The exact dollar amount that could be received in tax breaks was not released. Last week, the DOE and the IRS demanded more information be released about the bankruptcy plan and how much the firms would receive in tax breaks, news sources said.

Fremont-based Solyndra last year. It has since sold most of its assets with its 412,000-square-foot building being .

When the company went under, the DOE came under fire from Republican leaders skeptical of the agency’s funding of Solyndra due to George Kaiser, owner of Argonaut Ventures, contributions to Obama. The Obama Administration, however, insisted its loan to Solyndra was merit-based.

Read the full Wall Street Journal report here.