The car supplier Kiekert in the North Rhine-Westphalian Heiligenhaus has filed for bankruptcy-and blames the guilty of the previous Chinese owner. The operational business continues in the provisional procedure at all locations, the provisional insolvency administrator Joachim Exner said. The wages and salaries of around 700 employees in Germany are secured through the bankruptcy money up to and including November. The foreign subsidiaries in Europe, Asia and North America are not affected by the process, emphasized Exner. “You continue to work without restrictions,” it said.
Kiekert is a big name in the German automotive industry with 168 years of history and turbulent owner history. The company is considered the inventor of the modern central locking and, according to the insolvency administrator, is still the world market leader for vehicle closing systems. The locking system design for every third car worldwide comes from Kiekert, it said. The group of companies currently employ a total of 4,500 people and have an order stock of around 10 billion euros.
After Kiekert was bought by financial investors in 2000, it had become a symbol of the “grasshoppers” debate in Germany. In 2012 the company was then taken over by the Chinese automotive supplier Lingyun (Beijing). And that, according to the presentation of CEO Jérôme Dreu (50), was probably doomed. “The bankruptcy is the consequence of the fact that the Chinese partner has not provided any further funds and did not meet his financial obligations in the three -digit million range,” explained Dreu in a message. “The shareholder affected by sanctions denies us access to important markets and financing, which significantly endangers our business.” The aim of the management is to exit the Chinese partner. This is crucial to accelerate growth and continue the history of Kiekert as the supplier of the automotive industry.
Kiekert AG also had to accept significant order losses through the geopolitical developments-in particular the US sanction policy-, it said. “American customers have already withdrawn major orders, rating agencies downgraded the company due to the Chinese partner, banks refuse new loans.” In this situation, the application to open insolvency proceedings is the only remaining option to restructure and to make Kiekert AG.
The Rhineland car supplier was once noted on the stock exchange. In 2000, the private equity company Permira paid around 530 million euros for Kiekert and passed the debts on the company, but was overwhelmed after losses with interest. Permira finally had to cede Kiekert to the creditors – the hedge funds Bluebay and Silver Point as well as the Morgan Stanley investment bank. In 2012 the three passed the company on to Lingyun. In 2020 the company was on the brief could be saved by CEO DEBREU
become.