Rising interest rates and the difficult market environment are causing problems for startups and investors. One of the most recent victims of the crisis is Toposens: A required follow-up financing failed to materialize, and the company was forced to file for bankruptcy protection on November 18, 2022. File for bankruptcy.
Insolvency administrator Stefan Strüwind has embarked on a worldwide search for investors. This has now been successful: Mey Industry, the investment company of Webasto's main shareholder Gerhard Mey, is taking over the entire business operations of Toposens, including all trademark rights and patents. All employment relationships will also be retained. The insolvency administrator Stefan Strüwind tells Munich Startup:
"Toposens' technology is an excellent idea and already well developed. Potential investors have shown great interest."
Nevertheless, in the end, only one written offer was submitted. The problem for the other interested parties was the short decision time, according to Strüwind:
"Since the pre-financing period for insolvency benefits could only extend over two months, a buyer had to be found by January 31, 2023. Due to the short notice, most interested parties were unable to submit a written offer. Had we had more time, we would certainly have received even more offers."
Toposens: “We were able to achieve a very good result for everyone involved”
The Toposens GmbH itself will not be acquired by Mey Industry and will continue to exist after the sale of the business until the end of the insolvency proceedings. Stefan Strüwind summarizes:
"By selling the Toposens GmbH business operations to a third party, we were able to achieve a very good result for everyone involved and save all employment relationships."
Toposens develops sensor systems and software that enable autonomous technologies to perceive and interact with their environment in three dimensions. The sensors operate based on ultrasonic waves, which are transmitted and received similarly to a bat's sense of orientation. The product is already being used by major customers in the warehouse industry.
