Hybrid automaker Fisker Automotive has hired law firm Kirkland & Ellis to advise it on a possible bankruptcy filing, a source said on Thursday, while executives continue their search for a strategic investor. The company, founded in 2007, has raised more than $1 billion in venture capital, including $103.67 million last September 2012 from Advanced Equities Inc., Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and New Enterprise Associates.

(Reuters) – FBI agents searched the offices of Solyndra on Thursday, the U.S. solar startup that received millions of dollars in federal loan guarantees before filing for bankruptcy this week.

The search comes amid intensifying pressure on the Obama administration, which championed Solyndra as being at the forefront of solar technology when President Barack Obama visited the company’s Fremont, Calif., facility in 2010.

The FBI said it was searching for materials, including documents, but did not offer more specifics.

“We are executing search warrants at Solyndra regarding …

(Reuters) – As expected, Solyndra LLC, a solar panel maker that received $535 million in federal loan guarantees, filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy protection today, the third U.S. solar firm to succumb to pressure from Chinese rivals in recent weeks. Solyndra, which also received more than $700 million in venture capital funding, said it will [...]

(Reuters) – Claim Jumper Restaurants LLC filed for a pre-packaged bankruptcy in a Delaware court on Friday and said it agreed to sell all of its assets and operations to an affiliate of Canyon Capital Advisors LLC. In its Chapter 11 petition, the Irvine, California-based company listed assets in the $50-$100 million range and liabilities [...]

(Reuters) – Privately held alternative asset manager GSC Group Inc, a former unit of Travelers Group Inc, filed for bankruptcy in a Manhattan court and said it plans to sell all its assets. The company was founded in 1994 by Alfred Eckert as a subsidiary of Travelers to invest in private equity transactions but became [...]

By our count only six private equity-backed companies have filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 2010. That’s a far from cry the 24 that occurred in the first quarter of 2009.

In fact, in all of March, there was just a single private equity-backed bankruptcy, which occurred this week. St. Louis-based Electrical Components International Inc., which in 2007 received a $75 million equity investment by Francisco Partners, filed for bankruptcy protection yesterday.I think this is a pretty good sign, considering we recently learned that PE-backed companies are more likely to default (but also more likely to recover). It seems to follow that if the bankruptcy rate of debt-laden companies is dropping, that bodes well for the rest of the economy. Then again, there are a lot (LOT) of debt-laden companies that haven’t even begun to imagine how they’ll go about repaying it. That’s for 2014 my friends…

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In February 2010, just three PE-backed companies filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, a decrease from last year and a stark contrast to the country’s rise in general corporate bankruptcies.

By this time last year, 18 LBO-backed companies had filed for bankruptcy. But 2010 is on track to be a happier year for private equity portfolio companies: Combined with January’s total of two filings, buyout firms only received five black eyes to date. The survivors have flexible lenders to thank.

Even more surprising is the continued rise in corporate bankruptcies across the board. Data from yesterday shows that bankruptcies rose last month for the fifth straight February. The total number of filings was 6,557, according to AACER, a database of bankruptcy statistics. The fact that private equity had its hands

NEW YORK (Reuters) – U.S. business bankruptcies rose again in last month, marking the fifth-straight February that such filings have increased, according to a bankruptcy data provider on Tuesday. Companies from a range of industries, including video rental chain Movie Gallery Inc (MVGRQ.PK), radio network Air America and luxury ski resort developer East West Resort [...]