2024-08-14 10:39:24
The automotive supplier AE Group actually seemed to be saved. Now, surprisingly, the company has declared bankruptcy on its own initiative. The reasons are varied.
The Thuringian aluminum die-casting manufacturer AE Group, which was taken over by a new owner in February 2024, is apparently in a deeper crisis than initially assumed. According to information from “Wirtschaftswoche”, the company with around 1,000 employees is to be restructured in self-administration insolvency proceedings.
Martin Mucha, a partner at the Grub Brugger law firm and a restructuring expert for the AE Group, remains confident. “The substance of the AE Group is good and the products are of the highest quality,” he told “Wirtschaftswoche”. He continued: “We are therefore aiming to restructure the company and hope that we can find a good solution together with the employees, customers and suppliers.”
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However, the restructuring of the company appears to be more difficult than initially assumed. AE Group CEO Christian Kleinjung admitted: “We have already stepped up our efforts to restructure our company in recent months; however, the collapse in demand from automobile manufacturers continues to cause us great difficulties.”
In the event of insolvency in self-administration, the automotive supplier will be supervised by a court-appointed administrator and will also receive support from an external restructuring consultant. The AE Group is particularly suffering from price increases on the energy and raw materials markets. At the beginning of 2024, the company was sold to Munich-based Alutech Holding, which specializes in the purchase of medium-sized companies in special situations.
After the sale, Kleinjung said: “With Alutech Holding, we have gained a financially strong partner for the further development of the AE Group.” The task now is to “make the AE Group sustainably profitable again.”