Corporate venture-backed ISE has filed for bankruptcy protection six months after its flotation in Toronto.
The US-based maker of clean-tech bus parts raised C$20.7m ($19.9m) on the Toronto stock exchange and its final, series D venture round was for $17.5m.
Siemens Venture Capital, the strategic unit of Germany-based industrial conglomerate Siemens, led its D round alongside DTE Energy Ventures, the corporate venturing division of US utility DTE Energy, and Australia-based fund manager Macquarie Clean Technology Fund as new investors, alongside venture capital firms Rockport Capital Partners and NGP Energy Technology Partners as repeat investors.
One source close to the company said he expected the equity holders to be wiped out in the Chapter 11 and added: "[ISE was] tight [with its cashflow] and [the collapse was] primarily a working cap squeeze combined with lower [amounts of dollars] raised in its IPO than expected.
"We’re really getting close to the technology being commercially competitive (assuming oil/diesel prices don’t collapse) for many applications. ISE has so much great technology and talent around electric drivetrain and energy storage integration (both batteries and ultracaps). They’ve been unfortunate with their timing market collapse at time of IPO and broader [US] economy dramatically reducing orders."