German electric plane pioneer Lilium has found an investor to rescue it from insolvency and is to recall the around 750 staff it sacked last week, chief executive Karl Roewe said on Tuesday.
The Mobile Uplift Corporation consortium of investors has signed a contract to purchase the startup, which has developed an electrically powered vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) mini aircraft over the past 10 years.
“We are very happy to announce the signing of an investment agreement with an extremely experienced consortium of investors,” Roewe said. “Closing the transaction at the beginning of January will allow us to restart our business,” he added.
No details on price or on the investors behind the corporation were released.
The first manned flight had been planned for the start of next year, with initial delivery to customers in 2026, but the company ran out of money and declared bankruptcy at the end of October.
Management and consultants KPMG have now found investors from Europe and North America to purchase the assets of the operating companies Lilium GmbH and Lilium eAircraft GmbH, subsidiaries of Lilium.
Certain conditions must still be fulfilled before the contract is closed. While Lilium is free of major debt, investment put at hundreds of millions of dollars will be needed to continue operating, including certification.
Proceeds from the sale of the two subsidiaries will not be distributed to the parent company. The aim is to restructure the subsidiaries and terminate the insolvency proceedings.
The company is said to have 700 confirmed and unconfirmed orders on its books from the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Saudia Arabia and other countries.
Some $1.6 billion has already been invested in Lilium, which was listed on the Nasdaq.
