After a legal to-and-fro which has lasted across the summer, US-based gamingware manufacturer Corsair has been confirmed as the new owner of the troubled Endor AG and its Fanatec racing peripheral brand.
Endor and insolvency administrator Dr Beck & Partner released a statement in which Corsair’s purchase of the business operations of Endor AG was confirmed, along with shares in overseas subsidiaries of the company.
It’s been a bit of a rollercoaster ride since the shock announcement in March that Endor had dismissed its founder and popular frontman, CEO Thomas Jackermeier. This, said Endor, was to satisfy a condition of its creditors to allow a “standstill agreement” on loans from these banks, with former food industry bigwig Andres Ruff brought in as a “chief restructuring officer”.
That somewhat lifted the lid on what had been some chaotic months at Fanatec, with rumors of over-selling across the Black Friday period in 2023 and a lot of consumers complaining about extremely long delivery times — while the company relocated its US logistics center from California to Texas while at the same time building a new headquarters in its native Landshut.
A power-struggle of sorts ensued as Endor announced Corsair would be the preferred bidder — with the American brand stumping up seven-figures of bridging cash — while Jackermeier himself was assembling a consortium to bring the company back into his control.
As Endor pursued the Corsair angle, it entered a compulsory restructuring under a German law known as “StaRUG”, but this process failed and Endor wasted little time in blaming Jackermeier for this as he successfully lobbied a court to allow him and strategic partner Bamboo Invest GmbH to convene an Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) with a view to dismissing the supervisory board.
That caused Endor to begin insolvency proceedings, bringing in the administrators and opening a bidding process for the company and its property and assets. The Higher Regional Court of Munich also overturned the decision of the Local Court of Landshut, cancelling the EGM set for September 3.
Landshut’s insolvency court opened the proceedings on Friday September 13, and it was quickly announced that Corsair had acquired the business operations of Endor, including all active employment contracts — though not its real estate. Endor itself will be liquidated, terminating its stock market listing and likely leaving the shareholders — including Jackermeier — without payments.
Quite what this all means for gamers — particularly those with Fanatec products already — remains to be seen. However Fanatec has still been releasing new products while all has been going on behind the curtain. We can only hope that this, at least, continues largely uninterrupted.
