The sale of bankrupt EV Startup Canoo’s assets to his CEO has been approved by the judge who oversees the case. After evaluating a number of limited objections to the sale, Judge Brendan Shannon said during a hearing Wednesday he believed the process was fair and that no one else, but Canoo CEO Anthony Aquila made a bid.

Shannon’s decision Match the way for Aquila to buy the most assets of the EV start for about $ 4 million in cash. Aquila plans to offer services to clients such as NASA and the Department of Defense, which bought some Canoo vehicles before the company underwent, according to advocates representing the CEO.

Canoo is the latest failure in a wave of EV startups to submit for bankruptcy, a list that includes Fisser, Lordstown Motors and Nikola.

Canoo is also not the only one of these companies that had a CEO to buy the assets. Lordstown Motors founder and former CEO Steve Burns has bought most of the assets of his business in bankruptcy, and now the newly forgiven Nikola founder and former CEO Trevor Milton is trying to do the same with his start.

Aquila was not the only one interested in the assets of Canoo.

Mark Felger, an advocate for Canoo, said during the hearing that as many as eight parties other than Aquila NDAs signed and evaluated for sale. Only a handful of this came close to making a bid, he said, including one group that, according to the bankruptcy trustee, can arouse the Foreign Investment Committee in the United States because of the (unspecified) “foreign ownership.”

The most striking of the parties who almost bid on the assets was Harbinger, a startup of electric trucks that recently objected to the sale, claiming that Canoo is hiding assets for potential buyers. Advocates for Aquila said in a answer Harbing’s objection was “without merit and without any factual support.”

The founding team of Harbinger and many of his earliest employees separated from Canoo to create the new start in 2021. Canoo accused the founders of incorrectly using trade secrets on the way out in a lawsuit filed in late 2022, which is still underway.

The outcome of the lawsuit has become a center of selling Canoo’s assets. The trustee believes that a Canoo victory in the case can bring in a big money and also a possible order against Harbinger using any of these trade secrets.

John Morris, a Harbinger lawyer, emphasized during the hearing that, despite two years in court, no one outside Aquila even knows which trade secrets were believed to have been used incorrectly. Canoo never, even under seal, specified what he believes that Harbinger allegedly stole.

Harbing’s objection to the sale partially treated this, claiming that the curator or the assessment firm cannot properly appreciate the estate – which means that potential bidders are not fully informed.

Morris also raised the issue of a specific clause in the sales agreement, giving Aquila the ultimate approval of any possible settlement in the lawsuit with Canoo.

Morris argued that the curator abandoned his fiduciary duty to the estate by giving a possibly aquila final on any settlement. Shannon eventually disagreed.

Shannon referred to the trustee’s testimony that negotiations with Aquila took weeks and involved a number of offers and counterattacks as proof that the sale was properly considered. He said that Aquila’s relationship with the company was properly disclosed.

“The trustee offered a process that led to a significant offer,” and the sale did “too good faith”, he said.

Other objections to the sale usually come from companies that either have excellent balances with Canoo, or still hold on to equipment. Felger told the court on Wednesday that most, if not all, is being resolved.

This story has been updated to include the judge’s final order and an answer from WHS Energy Solutions, the entity controlled by Aquila.