Climate Startup Aspiration Partners boasts a roster of celebrities, arranged carbon credits for the Meta platform, Microsoft and other large companies, and filed for bankruptcy weeks after the co-founder was arrested on fraud charges.
CTN Holdings, as is currently known, has a debt of approximately $170 million. The goal of bankruptcy is to sell assets as quickly as possible to repay creditors, Chief Restructuring Director Miles Staglik said in a court filing. The pool of potential bidders is small, and the nature of CTN ventures will likely require more cash and “a long-term perspective before potential value can be realized to creditors,” Staglik said.
Bankruptcy has been filed after co-founder Joseph Samberg was accused by federal prosecutors of conspiring to fraud two investor funds of at least $145 million, according to a U.S. Department of Justice announcement earlier this month. Staglik, the managing director of CR3 partners hired as CTN’s restructuring advisor, said the charges include personal conduct and are not involved in any “criminal conduct” with CTN or its affiliates.
Several affiliates, including CTN and Catona Climate Solutions, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Sunday night, and planned to borrow $4 million to fund that bankruptcy case. The company plans to auction its assets within the next 45 days, according to court records.
He is unaware of the conduct of Sanberg’s suspects and is a victim, Staglik said. Sanberg “no longer holds a duties or role with the debtor and is no longer involved in the debtor’s business capabilities,” he said.
Still, the criminal case against Sanberg “had a negative impact on the ability of the debtor to find exchange capital due to the immediate operational needs,” Staglik said. CTN said in court documents it lined up Chapter 11 funding to fund the business when it was about to sell assets.
“Mr. Samberg has pleaded not guilty and we look forward to advocating for him vigorously,” his lawyer, Mark Muksey, said Monday.
CTN’s biggest unsecured creditors are the National Basketball Association’s Los Angeles Clippers and the Kia Forum, both owned by Stephen Balmer. Aspiration’s supporters included Ballmer. Ballmer has $40 million in “contract carbon credits” and “unsecured claims on carbon credits for the Carbon Credits of Ballmer.
Benjamin Elgin of Bloomberg contributed.
