An American hedge fund is making millions of dollars available on demand to air taxi developer Lilium. The Lilium boss had previously asked for German state aid.
The Lilium founders (from left to right): Patrick Nathen, Sebastian Born, Daniel Wiegand and Matthias Meiner. Lilium Aviation
Lilium boss Klaus Roewe recently sounded the alarm because the German air taxi developer’s funds could be running out. He advocated government guarantees to secure new investments. According to Welt research, Lilium has now agreed on an emergency financial injection. The US hedge fund Yorkville Advisors is ready to buy Lilium shares for up to 150 million dollars (around 139 million euros). An on-demand capital injection is planned because it is not yet clear whether and when the offer, which is limited until May 2027, will be used.
US investor buys shares below market value
A special general meeting on May 30 is expected to approve the potential entry of the US investor, according to documents submitted to the US Securities and Exchange Commission. SEPA financing (Standby Equity Purchase Agreement) is planned, in which an investor buys shares if necessary, in a sense an equity loan. Yorkville could acquire the shares at a few percentage points below the market price. Part of the Yorkville business model is to invest in ambitious and risky future areas. The hedge fund also invested in the temporarily insolvent German electric car developer Sono Motors.
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When asked, a Lilium spokesman downplayed the significance of the Yorkville agreement and spoke of it as a frequently used hedge for companies listed on the US technology exchange Nasdaq. The issue of security is not only a top priority for the Lilium models, but also for company finances, according to the reasoning. The Lilium financial aid from the USA is still significant. Because it is becoming public at a time when both the head of Lilium and the head of the air taxi company Volocopter, Dirk Hoke, are bluntly asking for state aid as a guarantee in order to further finance the development of their electric vertical take-off aircraft. Hoke even spoke of a potential risk of bankruptcy or sales abroad.
Lilium boss Roewe also recently complained in an interview with the “Süddeutsche Zeitung” about a lack of political support to keep the future industry in the country. Because of its E-Jet engines instead of propellers and its greater range, Lilium does not see itself as a classic air taxi, but rather as an offer for city connections with an initial range of 175 kilometers.
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The Lilium financial aid will be announced shortly before the business aircraft trade fair (EBACE) in Geneva at the end of May, where the final design of the model for four to six passengers plus pilot will be shown publicly for the first time. New orders are often agreed around trade fairs. To date, Lilium has received letters of intent for 757 models, including 42 firm orders. Commercial launch is planned for 2026 – if regulators give the green light. The first manned Lilium test flight is planned for the end of the year.
1.36 billion euros in start-up losses
After this milestone, Lilium expects some relief in its finances. So far, the start-up losses have already added up to 1.36 billion euros. At the beginning of this year, Lilium still had around $200 million (186 million euros) in cash. The $150 million (139 million euros) promised by the Yorkville hedge fund corresponds very roughly to half a year’s worth of expenses.
The aviation scene is also following with interest how the tug of war between Berlin and the Free State of Bavaria over a state Kfw loan of 100 million euros with a Bavarian guarantee to Volocopter continues. There is speculation that Bavaria could at least promote or secure Lilium.
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German Mechanic Embraces New Career Amid Auto Industry Turmoil
Emrullah Karaca, a mechanic employed by automotive supplier Continental in Gifhorn, northern Germany, April 23, 2024 (AFP / Léa PERNELLE)
In a few months, Emrullah Karaca will be ready to assemble heat pumps. A new career for this German mechanic who has been making car brakes for over twenty years but whose factory is about to close.
At the end of 2027, automotive supplier Continental will relocate production from its Gifhorn site, in northern Germany, to Croatia, the Czech Republic and Wales in order to remain “competitive”.
For the 800 employees who will lose their jobs, like Emrullah Karaca, the race for retraining has begun.
He is one of thousands of workers in automotive subcontracting, a flagship sector of German industry, which has been hit by a tsunami of social plans in recent months. In Germany, the European election campaign is gaining momentum due to the pressure of industrial collapse.
European equipment manufacturers are experiencing the double shock of the planned end of the thermal engine in the EU and the rise of Chinese competition.
Like Continental, which will cut around 7,000 jobs worldwide, the Germans Bosch, ZF, Webasto have recently announced significant cuts to their workforce. The same in France for the groups Forvia and Valeo.
Emrullah Karaca, who has been making car brakes for more than 20 years, at the factory of equipment manufacturer Continental in Gifhorn, northern Germany, April 23, 2024 (AFP / Léa PERNELLE)
In Gifhorn, a regional company, Stiebel Eltron, offered to change the factory into a heat pump production site and at the age of 49, Emrullah Karaca is training in this new profession.
“Brakes or heat pumps, for me it’s the same thing!”, this father of three children declares to AFP. Not without ease in the heart: both his parents were already workers on the Continent.
Stiebel Eltron hopes to preserve 300 jobs. Up to 100 Conti employees could find work in the Siemens Mobility rail factory, about thirty kilometers away.
– New actors –
For exhaust pipes, pistons, cylinders, gearboxes, brakes, automotive subcontractors – about 270,000 jobs in Germany – it is crucial to consider what will happen in the future.
“For every 100 workers involved in the manufacture of conventional engines, only 10 are needed to make an electric car engine,” summarizes Jutta Rump, professor at the University of Ludwigshafen.
Although the European Union plans to ban the sale of new thermal cars in 2035, the accelerating electrification of the automotive sector is disrupting the core business of traditional equipment manufacturers.
They face competition from new players, especially Chinese electronic component manufacturers who are taking market share.
Mechanic Emrullah Karaca on the site of his Continental factory in Gifhorn, northern Germany, April 23, 2024 (AFP / Léa PERNELLE)
Thus the Chinese battery giant CATL rose in a few years to third place among the world’s equipment manufacturers, still led by Germany’s Bosch, according to consulting firm Roland Berger.
Traditional equipment manufacturers also justify labor cuts due to pressure from automakers engaged in a price war.
– Strike –
In Germany, one in three subcontractors plans to relocate abroad for competitive reasons, according to a study by the Confederation of German Automobile Manufacturers (VDA).
In the south-west of the country, the Ford plant in Saarlouis will close in 2025. The traditional Fiesta, Mondeo, Focus, which the site has been manufactured for a long time, are gone. The American manufacturer has chosen its factory in Valencia, Spain, for the production of electric models on a large scale.
The closure is an earthquake for the fleet of equipment manufacturers working with the plant. Their employees went on strike for six days in March to get enough severance pay.
Among them was Luca Thonet, logistics team leader at Lear, one of Ford’s suppliers. At 33, he wants to stay in this region on the border with France.
“But there is almost no industry left in the region; the other factories are not in a very good situation either,” he explains to AFP.
He cites the example of equipment manufacturer ZF which has also announced the closure of two factories in Germany and whose works council fears the loss of 12,000 jobs, particularly in Saarbrücken, 25 kilometers from Saarlouis.
Because if there is a serious labor shortage in Germany, it does not apply to all sectors. In IT, sales, product development “we lack qualified personnel, but this is not the case in production”, warned Jutta Rump.
German Mechanic Embraces New Career Amid Auto Industry Turmoil
Dona Jovita Gutiérrez and Aguilera Donates Chapel to Catholic Community in Saltillo, Mexico
Colonists from Parques de la Canada recognized Dona’s hardworking life and generosity Jovita Gutiérrez and Aguilera, which they say contributed to the Catholic community in the south of Saltillo for decades and now with the donation of a chapel to the community.
“We gather in this holy place, the chapel of Santa María de Guadalupe to celebrate an unprecedented act of generosity, on the part of one of our most beloved patrons, Dona Jovita,” To celebrate Guillermo Sánchez.
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This is after announcing that Doña Jovita decided to give not only the land of the parish, but also the church to the religious community. who currently leads the parish.
“With a heart lit by faith and neighborly love, he has decided to give not only this land, but also the building, this chapel of love to our neighborhood association.”Mr. Sánchez pointed from the microphone.
In the celebration held in the same chapel, Dona Jovita was with himor your daughters, friends and family to be known after showing the love and respect she has for the Saltillo community in this part of town.
From the microphone it was announced that this is a move that not only reinforces the physical space in which they gather, but also strengthening their community spirit, allowing them to continue creating good families.
The priest Humberto García Sánchezfrom Nuestra Señora de la Soledad, thanks to this independent action, ensures that The idea is to create the committee because there is a need for a bigger place to express their faith.
“Miss Jovita has given this space, but we have no more space, we still ask for her support to be able to expand to be able to sacristy think of a project for a much bigger chapel , “ García Sánchez reported.
Father Humberto fully appreciated the generosity of Dona Jovita and her family, known for the selfless actions he has done for decades towards the community of the southern part of Saltillo.
“Thanks to her for the time she offered us this place, the resources she gave us, her willingness to listen to us, to solve the community’s concerns,” the priest announced.
2024-05-06 03:43:27
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Dona Jovita Gutiérrez and Aguilera Donates Chapel to Catholic Community in Saltillo, Mexico