Fanatec Parent Company Endor AG Files For Insolvency

Last updated on August 1st, 2024 at 02:16 pm

The future isn’t certain for one of the biggest sim racing hardware companies, as Fanatec parent company Endor AG files for insolvency.

An attempt to restructure under the German Company Stabilisation and Restructuring Act (StaRUG) has failed, apparently due to a request by the former CEO and majority stakeholder to “convene an extraordinary general meeting to prevent a reorganisation under the StaRUG without presenting a viable alternative scenario” according to an official Endor AG press statement. And at the same times, negotiations with the majority shareholder have also been broken off ‘due to unrealistic demands’ which have led to lending banks and potential buyer Corsair both decided not to provide further financing.

The negotiations for Corsair to aquire Endor AG and Fanatec haven’t been finalised, although it’s still believed that Corsair or other companies are likely to take over Fanatec.

The former CEO and majority stakeholder is Endor founder Thomas Jackermeier, who was dismissed from his role back in March, 2024.

The statement from Endor reveals that the group liabilities have grown to more than 95 million Euros, with annual sales of around 100 million Euros, and they point to previous management decisions including “the oversized construction of the new company headquarters, miscalculated chip and merchandise orders that led to high write-downs and failures to introduce processes and systems worth millions”

What does this mean for Fanatec?

It’s likely the ownership of Fanatec will be resolved at some point, with the brand continuing to make sim racing equipment. Whether that’s under new owners or investors, or Thomas Jackermeier resuming control remains to be seen, as it may be that he had reasons for preventing the reorganisation of the company.

I’m not an expert on German insolvency law, but it’s divided into two stages supervised by the Insolvency Court, with filings by company management and often by creditors in the preliminary stage, and then the appointment of an insolvency administrator who may try to maintain the company as a going concern, and reports whether it should be liquidated or restructured, or through self-administration.

The idea of insolvency is to minimise trhe impact of a company failure on both creditors and the general economy, so it seems unlikely Endor and Fanatec will be wound down without someone taking over the companies. At the moment, Corsair still seem potential new owners, along with the possibility of Jackermeir returning. But the insolvency process might also interest other potential buyers.

It’s also worth noting that as part of their bridging finance, Corsair has received several design trademarks of Fanetc products as collateral against the loans. Which means those trademarks may remain with Corsair, even if they don’t aquire Fanatec in total.

Ultimately, whatever happens, we hope for the best for all impacted employees of Fanatec and Endor AG.

What does it mean for Fanatec owners and other sim racers?

Current Endor CEO Andres Ruff has confirmed that as part of the insolvency proceedings, restructuring and reorganising will continue. And business operations will continue as normal, including sales, warranty and repair services, along with driver and software updates.

Hopefully it won’t create more issues, considering the aftersales support from Fanatec has received legitimate criticism in recent times. But for the time being, Fanatec owners shouldn’t be worried about their equipment no longer being supported.

The two potential issues are that in the short term, it may turn potential purchasers away from buying Fanatec products due to the uncertainty. And a drop in sales isn’t going to help the company when it’s going through the insolvency process and looking for potential new owners.

And in the longer term, it’s a negative for the sim racing ecosystem if a major hardware manufacturer ceases to exist, or new owners come in and make things worse. Competition is generally a positive thing, and Fanatec have been a major influence in the arrival of entry and mid-level Direct Drive wheelbases, and subsequent price drops.

Check out all our coverage of the Fanatec range of sim racing wheels and pedals, here, along with everything related to the company as the situation continues to evolve.