Lilium: “Just When You Think It’s All Over…”
German news website, electrive.com, has been whetting the appetite of the eVTOL Industry with a “Will they or won’t they?” story concerning the defunct company, Lilium, who went into its second file for insolvency back in February.
Like a classic ‘Phoenix from the Ashes’ tale, the former electric air taxi company, mimicking the resurrection of Lazarus, may rise again.
This potential miracle began on August 8th, when electrive.com broke the news that theDutchAmbitiousAirMobilityGroup (AAMG) and partners were showing interest in continuing the Lilium aircraft program “by offering to acquire the intellectual property including key assets and securing technical expertise as well as the staff.”
The article went on, “Lilium’s aircraft platform is to be continually developed and certified, as well as setting up a supply chain to build the aircraft in Europe, should the company accept the deal.”
Before the insolvency proceedings, AAMG had ordered 16 Lilium Jets. The company claimed it had capital of over EUR250 million at its disposal for this purpose. There was also mention of access to a further EUR500 million for the expansion of operations in Europe and beyond.
This appeared to be a serious business offer.
Dr Robert Kamp, CEO & Senior Partner of AAMG, told electrive, “We are convinced that what has been developed here in Bavaria is groundbreaking and both technically and economically feasible. The Lilium platform is the result of years of endeavour by some of the most talented engineers in the world. We are excited about the opportunity to take this platform forward, invest in and realise its full potential.”
So far so good.
Three days later, the website announced a dampener to the news, fully expected with such a story.
The ‘cheapskate AAMG’ was only willing to pay EUR20 million for Lilium, a company once valued at billions. A shroud of mystery had also descended. There’d been no statement from Lilum or the insolvency administrator about the company’s interest. This is unusual in such situations after a declaration of intent has occurred.
For such a paltry sum, it remained unclear whether the offer was even being taken seriously.
The German business publication, Wirtschaftswoche, then waded in confirming that a purchase agreement had not yet been concluded, according to information obtained by the magazine from sources close to the company. Therefore, no money had been transferred and the insolvency administrators had yet to give their approval.
Those supporting the Euro offer pointed out that a Lilium buyer would have to start from scratch and need to invest heavily to get operations up and running again for an aircraft with a unique and highly controversial powerplant system consisting of 36 electric jet engines integrated into the wings and canards.
Meanwhile, Gründerszene/Business Insider, a leading platform for the German startup economy, added further information to the mix about who was behind this potential takeover company.
It is a joint venture between LuxAviation (a private aircraft operator from Luxembourg), Sigma Air Mobility (a subsidiary of Luxavation, focused on electric and sustainable mobility solutions of the future) and the Ambitious Group, an international recruitment consultancy headquartered in Amsterdam. AAMG also says it has joined forces with the Japanese company, AirMobility, to tap into markets in the Asia-Pacific region.
So we come to last Friday (August 15th).
AAMG are becoming serious after formally applying for a purchase agreement, under the conditions previously announced. The EUR20 million offer sounds incredibly cheap, but beggars can’t be choosers. The question being: is the insolvency administrator interested? A spokesperson commented that while talks are underway, conditions for a complete sale have not been met… yet.
A major concern is a lack of proof for the necessary financing. It is once bitten twice shy for Lilium after the startup’s second insolvency occurred because the investors failed to maintain their financial obligations.
The administrator stated, “It is crucial we achieve the best possible sales proceeds in the interests of the creditors. That is our task.”
Dr Kamp responded, “By providing a draft asset purchase agreement to a qualified and committed potential buyer does not involve any costs or risks for the insolvency administrators and is a necessary step to enable progress. Our goal is to protect the value already created, preserve first-class engineering jobs and ensure the continuation of this important European aerospace programme.”
Certainly, if AAMG were to raise their offer, there is a good chance Lilium may rise from the dead.
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(Top image: Lilium Jet)
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