Keystone-SDA
German air taxi start-up Lilium announced on Tuesday that it had reached a takeover agreement with a consortium of investors led by a Bavarian company, avoiding the liquidation that had threatened it since its bankruptcy filing.
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December 24, 2024 – 11:37
(Keystone-ATS) Lilium, which presents itself as a pioneer in the field of electric aviation, has signed an “asset purchase contract with Mobile Uplift Corporation GmbH”, a company registered in Munich (south) and created by “an experienced consortium of investors European and North American companies” which will acquire its assets, according to a press release.
The company, based in Bavaria, has been banking on its “Lilium jets” since its beginnings in 2015, electric vertical take-off machines that can accommodate four to six passengers.
“Subject to the fulfillment of certain suspensive conditions, Lilium believes that this agreement will allow its subsidiaries to obtain the funds necessary to relaunch their activities,” it is added, without the amount of this investment being revealed.
The names of the investors behind the Mobile Uplift entity are also not revealed, while the closing of the transaction “is currently planned for early January 2025,” according to the press release.
Job cuts
This last minute agreement comes after Lilium had to stop its activities and lay off almost all of its remaining 750 employees last Friday, after having already laid off 250, due to failure to find a buyer before the deadline which was set for Monday.
The technical challenges are enormous and money has recently been lacking for the company which is still in the development phase with its devices.
To date, Lilium has received around a hundred firm orders and around 700 pre-orders worldwide, according to a spokesperson.
It faces tough competition – particularly from global giants like Airbus or Boeing – to develop a technology intended to revolutionize urban transport and which requires significant capital.
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