Bankrupt Climate Firm Tainted by Scandal Lines Up Buyer

Climate startup Aspiration Partners Inc., which filed bankruptcy after its co-founder was arrested on fraud charges, has lined up a buyer willing to act as the lead bidder at a court-supervised auction.

Lenders to CTN Holdings, as the company is now known, have agreed to trade $20 million in debt they hold for ownership of the business, which arranges carbon credits for firms looking to reduce planet-warming pollution.

If any other qualified offers come in by May 13, the company will hold an auction in which the lender, Inherent Aspiration, would use the debt it is owed as if ...