The Bavarian air cab start-up Lilium has filed an application for the initiation of insolvency proceedings under self-administration for its subsidiaries Lilium GmbH and Lilium eAircraft GmbH with the competent district court in Weilheim. The court has approved the applications and ordered provisional self-administration. The experienced GÖRG insolvency and restructuring experts Prof Dr Gerrit Hölzle and Dr Thorsten Bieg were appointed to the management board to support the management. Ivo-Meinert Willrodt from PLUTA Rechtsanwalts GmbH was appointed as provisional administrator in both proceedings.
The application became necessary as the financial resources required to continue financing the business operations are no longer secured. The Budget Committee of the Bundestag of the Federal Republic of Germany did not approve a EUR 50 million guarantee for a planned EUR 100 million convertible bond from KfW for Lilium, although a corresponding commitment from the Free State of Bavaria for the remaining EUR 50 million had already been received.
Despite its ongoing fundraising initiatives, the company was therefore recently unable to raise sufficient funds in the short time available to continue the promising development of its all-electric flying cab. The management of the company, which was founded in 2015, has therefore applied for the opening of insolvency proceedings under self-administration. Lilium GmbH and Lilium eAircraft GmbH are the most important wholly-owned German subsidiaries of Lilium N.V., which is listed on the Nasdaq technology exchange.
The aim of the self-administration proceedings is to continue the search for investors, to minimize possible delays until the first flight planned for the first quarter and to continue development as quickly as possible. To this end, an M&A process will be launched immediately and talks with investors that have already begun will be continued. Business operations at the Gauting site (administrative headquarter) and at the special airport in Oberpfaffenhofen near Munich with around 1,200 employees will be continued.
The management will be supplemented with immediate effect by the two GÖRG partners and restructuring experienced lawyers Prof Dr Gerrit Hölzle and Dr Thorsten Bieg. Both have already successfully advised a large number of companies in crisis situations. Most recently, they worked for Senvion and The Social Chain AG, among others. Together with an experienced, cross-location GÖRG team, including Munich-based lawyer Dr Dominik König, they will now manage the reorganization of Lilium's German subsidiaries.
The Local Court of Weilheil has appointed Ivo-Meinert Willrodt, Managing Partner at PLUTA Rechtsanwalts GmbH, as the provisional insolvency monitor, who will support the proceedings together with his partner Mirko Möllen.
The provisional insolvency monitor Ivo-Merinert Willrodt explained, “In the coming weeks and months, I will be supporting the restructuring of Lilium under debtor-in-possession management. My task is to represent the interests of the creditors in both proceedings.” The restructuring expert is specialised in insolvency and restructuring law at PLUTA and has already acted as trustee for the solar car start-up Sono Motors and the drone manufacturer EMT, among others.
Insolvency proceedings under self-administration are court-ordered restructuring proceedings to preserve a company. The management remains in office and leads the company through the proceedings itself and is supported by restructuring experts. There is no insolvency administrator, but rather a (provisional) administrator who is appointed by the local court and under whose supervision the restructuring takes place. His task is to protect the interests of the creditors.
Self-Administration
GÖRG Insolvenzverwaltung Partnerschaft von Rechtsanwälten mbB
Prof Dr Gerrit Hölzle (Chief Restructuring Officer, Partner, Restructuring/Insolvency, Bremen)
Dr Thorsten Bieg (Chief Restructuring Officer, Partner, Restructuring, Hamburg)
Dr Dominik König (Associate, Insolvency, Munich)
Trustee
PLUTA rechtsanwalts GmbH
Ivo-Meinert Willrodt (Managing Partner, Munich)
Mirko Möllen (Insolvency, Munich)
About PLUTA
PLUTA helps companies in legally and economically difficult situations. Since its foundation in 1982, PLUTA has grown steadily and today employs around 500 people in Germany, Spain and Italy. More than 290 business people, business economists, lawyers, commercial lawyers, tax consultants, auditors, sworn accountants, economists, bankers, accountants, engineers and insolvency administration specialists, including many with multiple qualifications, provide practicable, economically sensible solutions. PLUTA provides support in particular for the restructuring and continuation of companies in crisis or insolvency situations and, if required also deploys restructuring experts as board members. PLUTA is one of the top reorganization and restructuring firms, as evidenced by rankings and awards from INDat, JUVE, The Legal 500, Who's Who Legal, brandeins and Focus.