GM Generali

   DOW JONES NEWSWIRES 
 

Delphi Corp. (DPHIQ) said no companies offered to top the U.S. auto-parts supplier's government-orchestrated deal with buyout firm Platinum Equity LLC by Friday's deadline, though lender JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM) may make a credit bid by next week.

The deadline for credit bidding by JPMorgan or another lender is July 17. Friday was the deadline for cash bids.

Bankruptcy Judge Robert Drain, who has been overseeing Delphi's Chapter 11 case for nearly four years, told Delphi last month it needed to hold an auction for its assets in response to concerns from its bankruptcy lenders. They contended the plan to sell Delphi's assets to Platinum and former parent General Motors Co. was a sweetheart deal that unfairly benefited the buyout firm and auto maker.

Delphi said if JPMorgan makes a credit bid, it will hold an auction for its assets July 17 and likely announce the outcome July 20.

Mark Barnhill, principal at Platinum Equity, said the firm is confident its offer will be validated as the best guarantee of Delphi's long-term health. He pointed to Platinum's "deep understanding of Delphi combined with our willingness to provide capital and our track record of success in turning around underperforming companies."

Delphi hopes to emerge from bankruptcy by selling four of its U.S. auto-parts plants and its steering business to GM, which remains Delphi's largest customer. Platinum, a private-equity firm based in Beverly Hills, Calif., specializing in distressed companies, would pick up most of Delphi's other assets.

The U.S. Treasury Department is providing Delphi with $250 million in emergency financing and has made that contingent on a sale being completed by July 23. The company is expected to run out of cash by the end of July.

Delphi filed for bankruptcy protection in 2005 and has been struggling to reorganize its business while also securing enough financing to exit the process.

-By Kathy Shwiff, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2357; Kathy.Shwiff@dowjones.com

(Patrick Fitzgerald and David McLaughlin contributed to this report.)