Manz files for insolvency
The application to open insolvency proceedings is expected to be filed in the next few days, as the company announced. The Management Board’s decision was taken ‘due to Manz AG’s inability to pay and its over-indebtedness under insolvency law’.
The decision by Manz AG’s lenders “not to provide any further funding” is cited as the reason for the insolvency. However, it would only have been a matter of time before insolvency occurred. “Independently of this, Manz AG is also over-indebted under insolvency law,” the press release states.
In recent weeks, the Managing Board is said to have held “intensive discussions with a number of lenders and investors regarding new equity and debt capital.” “Discussions with one of the interested investors were at an advanced stage but were unexpectedly broken off by that investor. This means that there is no financing solution to secure the necessary inflow of funds for the continuation of Manz AG outside of insolvency proceedings,” the company admits. Talks with potential investors are to continue during the insolvency proceedings.
The press release does not specify how Manz got into this financial situation in advance. Manz generated revenues of around 250 million euros in 2023, but was already not profitable in the last annual financial statements and was in the red. According to its own figures, Manz most recently had 1,435 employees.
Manz specialises in automation, metrology, laser processing, wet chemistry and roll-to-roll processes; technology fields that are needed in battery production. Manz has made a name for itself with its cell contacting systems, among other things. Among other things, Manz has supplied systems for BMW’s pilot battery production in Parsdorf near Munich, and in 2022 Daimler Truck AG also acquired a stake in the engineering company as part of a strategic partnership. Manz, in turn, has acquired a stake in the battery manufacturer Customcells.
In the European battery sector, not all projects have gone as planned. They are often realised later or on a smaller scale, which in turn puts pressure on factory equipment suppliers who have invested in advance in order to be able to deliver for these projects. Britishvolt, for example, had ordered production machines from Manz at the end of 2021 but had to file for insolvency around a year later.
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