Dutch e-bike manufacturer Stella Fietsen was declared bankrupt on Friday, according to a spokesperson for the Gelderland court.
The announcement comes a few days after the company requested a payment suspension. Stella Fietsen currently has about 440 employees in 48 locations in the Netherlands and Belgium.
In a statement, Frans van Oss, who has been appointed as the curator, says, “Stella’s stores and service points will remain closed for the time being. The curator is aware that there are consumers who have made a down payment or have offered their bicycles for repair. This has the full attention of the receiver and all those directly involved with.”
About a thousand customers have paid for bicycles but haven’t received them yet says the report.
Stella mentioned that they are trying their best to help these customers.
Consequently, the company will need to work with an administrator who still needs to be appointed.
Ten potential buyers, but!
Van Oss also announced that about ten potential buyers are interested in restarting the company after its bankruptcy declaration.
However, none of the interested buyers wanted to take on those debts, adds Oss.
Stella Fietsen had “ over €10M in debt,” which made bankruptcy unavoidable.
“There are still interested parties for a possible restart. A takeover from the deferment of payment was not realistic and so the request has been made to convert the deferment of payment into bankruptcy. In the coming period, the receiver will enter into discussions with several interested parties to see whether a restart of Stella from bankruptcy is a possibility,” says Van Oss.
Joins VanMoof, Qwic and Doppio
The announcement comes over a year after Amsterdam’s e-bike manufacturer VanMoof declared bankruptcy.
However, the company was later acquired by London-based LAVOIE, a premium e-mobility company backed by McLaren Applied.
Besides VanMoof, other e-bike companies, including Qwic and Doppio, were also declared bankrupt. But the former made a restart after a consortium of investors acquired it.
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