German eVTOL Company Needs Buyers to Keep Manufacturing Operations Alive

November 26, 2024

A team of engineers poses at the Lilium factory in Germany, where development of their eVTOL aircraft is occurring. Financial services firm KPMG is currently leading the search for mergers and acquisitions that will be necessary to keep their manufacturing operations alive. (Image: Lilium)

Lilium, the Munich, Germany-based electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft manufacturer, has appointed financial services firm KPMG to conduct an open, transparent and fair M&A process. First investor briefings are under way.

This appointment followed the local court of Weilheim’s approval of the insolvency filing of Lilium’s German subsidiaries and the court’s granting of Lilium’s application for self-administration.

Preliminary insolvency proceedings under self-administration are court-ordered restructuring proceedings aimed at preserving the business. The management remains in charge and leads the business through the proceedings, supported by restructuring experts.

The court has appointed to the German subsidiaries’ Boards of Management with immediate effect two restructuring-experienced lawyers, Prof. Dr. Gerrit Hölzle and Dr. Thorsten Bieg as Chief Insolvency Officers (CIOs). 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. They will now oversee the reorganization of Lilium's German subsidiaries.

The Local Court of Weilheim has also appointed attorney Mr. Ivo-Meinert Willrodt, Managing Partner at PLUTA Rechtsanwalts GmbH, as the provisional custodian. The restructuring expert is an attorney and specialist lawyer for insolvency and restructuring law and has already acted as trustee for the solar car start-up Sono Motors and the drone manufacturer EMT, among others. His role is to protect the interests of the creditors in the proceedings.

Lilium CEO Klaus Roewe welcomed the appointments: “With the support of our appointed custodian and the restructuring experts, we at Lilium remain fully focused on re-emerging following restructuring, with fresh investment to support the all-electric Lilium Jet’s path to certification and entry into service.”

Work at Lilium’s subsidiaries continues, with the more than 1,000 employees engaged in progressing towards the next significant program milestone, first manned flight, having been informed on the details of continued employee payment. The business has also informed affected suppliers, outlining expectations and procedural steps.

The first two Lilium Jets are currently on the final assembly line, with the first aircraft having recently completed the initial low-voltage power-on milestone and due to advance shortly into the ground testing phase. The fuselage and wings of the third aircraft are currently in assembly at aerostructures suppliers Aciturri and Aernnova. End of October, Lilium engineers moved a fully assembled, conforming Lilium Jet airframe into the static test rig for structural testing, in a significant advance for the program. The structural strength test is an essential part of the testing plan for first manned flight and type certification.

The company was informed by NASDAQ that trading of the company’s shares and warrants were suspended on November 6, 2024.

The business’ current order pipeline consists of firm orders, reservations, options, and memoranda of understanding for more than 780 Lilium Jets to operators in the U.S., South America, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East.

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