The bankruptcy report for the VanMoof company has been published. The opportunity to discover the amounts that the company owes to its creditors, as well as other financial and strategic elements hitherto unknown.
In mid-July, the Dutch entity of VanMoof was officially declared bankrupt. There followed a thrilling soap opera and a dangerous race against time, during which VanMoof almost died. Judicial liquidations were notably recorded in the United Kingdom and Taiwan.
On August 31, the saga ended with the takeover of VanMoof by Lavoie, a company specializing in electric scooters and, incidentally, a subsidiary of McLaren Applied – which no longer belongs to McLaren Group since 2021. From now on, the new owners must put to work to restart the machine.
An already very delicate situation at the start of 2022
In the meantime, the bankruptcy report relating to VanMoof has been published. This document was written by administrators Jan Padberg and Robin de Wit, who oversaw VanMoof’s bankruptcy process in the Netherlands. During summer, Frandroid was able to discuss the company’s situation with Jan Padberg on several occasions.
What does this report tell us? First, that VanMoof was already in a very complicated financial situation at the start of 2022. And this due to problems with the supply of spare parts, delays and numerous technical problems with its electric bicycles at the time.
To save the day, he had to raise funds: creditors then invested the sum of 42.9 million euros, to thus support the company, its activities and its fleet of VAE put on the market – it is a question of 180,000 models sold.
This report also gives details on the number of employees before the bankruptcy: 696 people, dispatched between several subsidiaries and other foreign entities. It should be remembered that today, VanMoof would only have 50 to 60 employees to start again on a more contained financial basis.
Another interesting element: VanMoof tried to sell its American subsidiary – active since 2015 – in a separate sales process. But nothing came of it.
More than 100 companies in discussion for takeover
Edifying figures highlight the large sums that VanMoof is supposed to pay to its creditors: 20.7 million euros from 967 creditors, but also and above all an amount of 80 million euros lent by its main creditor. According to the media Brightit would be the investment fund manager TriplePoint.
As we know, several players were at the heart of the negotiations for the takeover of VanMoof: in addition to Lavoie, which has since become the owner, we can cite a Dutch consortium led by a cycling pundit or MicroMobility. The names Trek and Giant have also been bandied about.
In this case, 114 different entities would have had discussions with VanMoof to attempt a takeover! Issue : “It was complicated for buyers to determine the total investment required. It was clear that this was a significant investment, which resulted in many interested parties withdrawing“, we can read.
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