As Tom Arnold and Peter Oslak had reported in the Austrian industry magazine WEKA Industrie Medien GmbH, the US electric car start-up Fisker is insolvent. After negotiations with a major car manufacturer failed, the company filed for bankruptcy on Monday evening. Assets worth around 500 million to one billion dollars (467 to 934 million euros) are offset by debts of between 100 million and 500 million dollars.
Falling demand for electric cars
Fisker had already announced the breakdown of talks with an unnamed car manufacturer in February. According to Reuters, insiders had reported that Japanese carmaker Nissan was in advanced negotiations with Fisker about a financial injection. The Los Angeles-based company, which was founded by Danish car designer Henrik Fisker, has been struggling for some time with difficulties in vehicle sales that are more complex than originally expected. Added to this is the declining demand for electric cars overall and the more difficult access to capital in times of higher interest rates.
Reorganization proceedings applied for in Graz back in May
At the beginning of May, debtor-in-possession restructuring proceedings were opened in Graz for the Austrian subsidiary of Fisker. This step is intended to ensure that Fisker Austria can continue its business operations under court protection and subsequently pay its employees and continue to deliver vehicles, the company said in a press release. "Fisker Austria intends to continue delivering vehicles to customers, providing services and over-the-air software updates as far as possible during the restructuring proceedings. The restructuring proceedings with self-administration enable Fisker Austria to continue operating the company on its own."
Under the supervision of a court and a court-appointed restructuring administrator, the company will continue to pay its employees and sell and service vehicles. It is emphasized that the Fisker companies outside Austria are not involved in the restructuring process. Around 50 employees of the Austrian subsidiary will continue to be employed.
The insolvency proceedings are the largest in Styria up until now
These are the largest insolvency proceedings in Styria until now. The liabilities were stated at EUR 1.34 billion. According to KSV, the assets amount to EUR 959 million (book values) or at estimated liquidation values of EUR 40.5 million (AKV) or EUR 66.3 million (Creditreform). The high liabilities of Fisker GmbH, which was founded in 2021, are largely attributable to liabilities to Fisker Group companies ("intercompany"), credit protectors reported on request. Around 615 creditors are affected by the insolvency. The company currently employs 47 people. Fisker develops and sells electric vehicles, which are produced by Magna-Steyr-Fahrzeugtechnik.
Source: www./industriemagazin.at
