When a company defaults on its payments, provisional insolvency administration is usually ordered before the actual proceedings begin. This serves to protect the debtor's assets from adverse changes. However, the time is also used to find new investors or buyers before the actual proceedings begin.
This is what happened to Franka Emika, among others. Provisional insolvency administration was ordered for the robotics startup in August. The actual insolvency proceedings were opened in November. Shortly thereafter, the negotiations conducted by the provisional insolvency administrator bore fruit. Agile Robots, a robotics solutions provider also based in Munich, Franka Emika took over.
There are also new developments in the insolvency of XpayThe credit card startup, founded in 2016, aimed to become the leading provider in the embedded finance sector with prepaid credit cards and the corresponding data analytics. However, in August, several parts of the group were forced to file for preliminary insolvency: Xpay Holding AG, Xpay Solutions GmbH, and Xpay Development GmbH. Xpay Card Services GmbH, which is the operational center as an e-money agent, was not affected by the insolvency. In November, insolvency proceedings were declared for Xpay Holding, and insolvency proceedings were initiated.
New cases of provisional insolvency in the Munich scene
In the fourth quarter of the year, further cases of preliminary insolvency among Munich startups were added. In November Noyes Technologies into provisional insolvency administration. The startup is developing an automated micro-warehouse for quick and e-commerce providers, parcel delivery services, and many other applications. The nano-warehouses are designed for use in large cities and can be flexibly expanded. Noyes also gained an important customer and partner in Viessmann. Attorney Rolf G. Pohlmann was appointed provisional insolvency administrator. His Munich-based law firm, Pohlmann Hofmann, also managed the insolvency of Franka Emika.
In the same month, Cesonia The startup, founded in 2018 with support from LMU EC and SCE, has launched a collaboration solution for product development. Dr. Max Liebig of the Munich-based law firm Liebig Insolvenzverwaltung Restrukturierung has assumed the preliminary insolvency administration. Some may remember it from the Kuchentratsch insolvency last year.
At the beginning of December, the Edtech HeytimiThe startup has been offering online tutoring since 2020. Students can choose from numerous tutors and private tutors in a wide variety of subjects via the platform. Now the edtech company relies on the expertise of attorney Marc-André Kuhne. His Dingolfing-based law firm, DKR Kuhne Dr. Raith Rechtsanwälte, oversaw, among other things, the sale of the Munich-based startup Print2Taste at the end of 2021.
Shortly before Christmas, Smart4Diagnostics to the insolvency court. The medtech company is working on digitizing the blood collection process. The Munich-based startup hopes to ensure seamless quality control of blood samples between collection and processing in the lab. The startup recently celebrated its deployment on three continents, but now it appears to have run out of money. Attorney Dr. Elske Fehl-Weileder has been appointed as provisional insolvency administrator. She works for the Aachen-based law firm Schultze & Braun, a law firm specializing in insolvency administration.
