E-bike brand Stella Fietsen officially declared bankrupt

E-bike brand Stella Fietsen was officially declared bankrupt on Friday. This was confirmed by a spokesperson for the court in Gelderland after initial reporting in AD. Stella Fietsen had requested a deferral of payment earlier this week.

Bankruptcy and labor law expert Frans van Oss was appointed as the curator guiding the next steps in the process. Earlier on Friday, Van Oss said that about ten candidates have come forward for a possible restart of the company and that more information about how this should take place will become available on Friday afternoon.

He added that some of these parties seem more serious than others, but they would not look into which takeover candidates can play a role in the restart of the company until after Friday.

Stella Fietsen stores have been closed since Tuesday. Consumers who have already paid for a new bicycle but are still waiting for delivery will have to be patient for a while, according to Van Oss.

The curator will be looking into the possibilities for the company with the owner, DM Equity Partners (DMEP), and the bank. “However, legally this is difficult.” Van Oss expects to be able to provide some clarity regarding this in a week.

Stella Fietsen was founded in 2011 and suffered millions of euros in losses this year and last. The company itself points to difficult conditions in the electric bicycle market as the cause. There is no prospect of recovery in the short term, the company wrote earlier this week.