Already last week, the Air taxi company announced that it intends to initiate insolvency proceedings under self-administration for Lilium GmbH and Lilium eAircraft GmbH. Due to excessive indebtedness, it is no longer able to continue operations at the two operating subsidiaries. According to the Handelsblatt This means that the jobs of over 1,000 employees are now at risk. In addition, potential investor capital of around 1.5 billion euros has been lost.
Lilium CEO Klaus Roewe commented:
"We deeply regret the insolvency and its consequences for everyone involved at such a crucial stage in the development of our company. While there is no guarantee of success in insolvency proceedings, we hope that Lilium Jet will have a chance for a fresh start after the conclusion of the self-administration proceedings."
Demanded state aid for Lilium failed to materialise
In recent months, the company went through a lengthy approval process for a KfW loan, which was rejected by the Budget Committee of the German Bundestag. The hoped-for German government support for the KfW loan was also a condition for private financing that had already been pledged. Without government assistance, this hope also evaporated.
Roewe in addition:
"Our plan was to secure shareholder participation in a new financing round supported by a €100 million state loan. We had already secured additional private capital to supplement the KfW loan. However, the Budget Committee could not agree on the loan, and Bavaria could not do it alone."
In one Press release Lilium stated that it has never successfully completed a single aircraft program worldwide without government support. The French government has offered the air taxi manufacturer a loan of €219 million to finance a site in southwest France.
Following the planned maiden flight of its jet in early 2025, the company expected upfront payments and new investments. These were intended to secure the company's financing until 2026. At that time, the company would begin delivering its current order pipeline. According to Lilium, this includes firm orders, reservations, options, and letters of intent for a total of more than 780 jets from international customers. Whether this will happen is uncertain, as the publicly traded parent company is also under considerable pressure. Currently, the share price is only in the cent range.
