Irony alert.

Via Bloomberg:

The Chinese auto-parts maker that previously bailed out A123 Systems Inc. (AONE), the U.S. electric-car battery maker that filed for bankruptcy protection this week, said it’s still interested in taking over the company.

The bankruptcy filing may turn A123 into a more attractive investment because the court proceedings would clear out legal risks, Ni Pin, president of Wanxiang Group Corp.’s U.S. operations, said in a phone interview yesterday. The automotive business assets that A123 announced this week it would sell to Johnson Controls Inc. (JCI) are separate from what Wanxiang had targeted, Ni said.

“Bankruptcy court is like a filter that lets a dirty big boy covered with mud go through it and turn himself into a clean boy,” Ni said. “Even though the boy may become smaller, he doesn’t have the obligations he used to have.”

A123, the recipient of a $249 million federal grant, said that it scrapped the previous agreement with Wanxiang as it filed for bankruptcy protection and agreed to sell its automotive business assets to Johnson Controls. The Chinese company, the nation’s biggest auto-parts maker, earlier this year agreed to provide A123 with as much as $465 million in loans and bonds convertible into an 80 percent stake.