Germany

Munich-based flying taxi startup Lilium is facing mounting liquidity issues, according to its half year report published this week, Sifted.eu reported. The company says that it “immediately requires additional capital to continue to finance its ongoing operations” and will be forced to cut costs, reduce operations or file for insolvency if it cannot raise fresh funding. The stark warning comes just months after Lilium raised $114m from investors in May.

Triton Partners is poised to hand over the keys of personnel provider Univativ to private credit fund Pemberton Asset Management, an existing lender to the company, Bloomberg News reported. A spokesperson for Pemberton confirmed the transfer of ownership of Univativ. Triton will retain an economic interest in the German firm, which finds jobs for university graduates, according to the Pemberton representative. Triton’s acquisition of Univativ was financed by a unitranche loan from Pemberton in 2017. The parties at the time did not disclose the overall size of the loan facility.

BlackRock Inc. is set to become the largest shareholder in SellerX as part of a deal to slash the former unicorn’s debt load, Bloomberg News reported. BlackRock, an existing lender to the Berlin-based firm, will take a stake in the business as part of a debt-for-equity swap and refinancing, the people said, asking not to be named discussing private information. Existing equity investors will retain a share of the business, they added.

Vehicle production is a tough undertaking that requires numerous businesses to work towards a common goal, Car and Driver reported. Ineos recently proved just how tough a task that is by pausing production of the Grenadier SUV and Quartermaster pickup truck. A new report from Automotive News Europe suggests that the production pause may be due to Recaro's recent bankruptcy. The famous German sports seat supplier filed for insolvency in July, four years after being purchased by a U.S.-based private investment company.

German inflation declined further below the European Central Bank’s 2% target in September, further raising the chance of a consecutive interest-rate cut at the bank’s next meeting in October, the Wall Street Journal reported. Consumer prices were 1.6% higher than in September last year, down from 1.9% in August, German statistics office Destatis said Monday. The German data comes after inflation cooled more rapidly than expected in France and Spain, potentially increasing the pressure on policymakers to vote for an ECB rate cut on Oct.

Germany's finance minister has conveyed to Italy's Treasury his concerns about any takeover of Commerzbank by Italian lender UniCredit, two people familiar with the matter said, as Berlin looks to halt a hostile deal, Reuters reported. Christian Lindner outlined his position to the Treasury — Italy's economy and finance ministry, led by Giancarlo Giorgetti — in tandem with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz's public criticism this week of UniCredit's move to become the biggest investor in its German rival.

Germany’s economy is likely to gather pace as several of the causes behind its recent weakness prove short-lived, according to Bundesbank President Joachim Nagel, Bloomberg News reported. Some of the factors holding back growth — which include elevated inflation, reluctant consumers and high interest rates — will probably only be “temporary,” Nagel said Tuesday in a speech, while acknowledging some longer-term structural problems that must be addressed.

Germany's leading economic institutes have downgraded their forecast for 2024 and now see Europe's largest economy shrinking by 0.1%, people familiar with the figures from the autumn joint economic forecast told Reuters on Tuesday. Germany's economy was the weakest among its large euro zone peers last year with a 0.3% contraction. Inflation was expected to fall to 2.2% this year, from 5.9% last year, the sources said. It would be around the 2% mark targeted by the European Central Bank in the two following years, according to the sources.