Several bids for insolvent air taxi pioneer Lilium

According to a report in the German business magazine Wirtschaftswoche, Lilium received offers from investors at the end of last week. Negotiations are now underway, and the aim is to reach an agreement with a buyer this week. “Several bidders are still in the running,” says WiWo.

It remains unclear who the prospective buyers are and how high the offers are. Lilium shares are currently only worth a few cents on the stock market, meaning a purchase price could probably be in the region of one hundred million euros. The alleged purchase offer from Chinese car manufacturer Geely for Lilium’s competitor Volocopter is also said to be in this range.

More interesting than the pure purchase price is likely the investment a potential buyer makes in Lilium and the strategy it pursues. Will the company simply continue to operate as before? Will the buyer stick to the German location? These are just some of the questions about the future of Lilium, which has been in self-administered insolvency since November.

As far as the cost side is concerned, Lilium is already embarking on a severe cost-cutting programme, even without a new owner. Around one in five employees will be made redundant. That means that around 200 of the 1,000 employees will lose their jobs.

Otherwise, Lilium is doing everything it can to maintain business operations. A few days ago, it signed a purchase agreement with eVTOL operator The Ambitious Group (A.A.M.G) for the acquisition of eight Lilium jets, with an option to acquire six more aircraft. A.A.M.G intends to offer electric charter flights, initially in southern Spain, Morocco, and the Benelux countries, and later in the Caribbean. As a result, Lilium’s order pipeline has grown to a total of 108 firm orders and reservations, plus 82 options and letters of intent for 600 electric aircraft. Conversely, the ASL Group has cancelled its reservation for six Lilium jets due to Lilium’s insolvency. However, the two parties intend to work together again once Lilium’s financial reorganisation has been successfully completed.

Lilium has received around 1.5 billion euros from investors over the past few years, but these were no longer willing to provide additional funds. As a result, Lilium sought state aid in Germany. In mid-October, however, it became clear that neither the federal government nor the Free State of Bavaria would provide any financial support, and Lilium filed for insolvency.

wiwo.de, lilium.com (new customer)