Germany

Versorgungswerk der Zahnärztekammer Berlin (VZB), the pension fund for dentists in Berlin, Bremen and the state of Brandenburg, is facing losses following an investment made in the now insolvent insurtech start-up Element Insurance, Investment & Pensions Europe reported. The pension scheme is one of the main investors in the Berlin-based start-up, with a 27.14% stake in the company, according to Element Insurance’s 2023 solvency report, the latest available.

German shipbuilding group FSG-Nobiskrug has received offers from potential investors from industry-related companies after it applied for insolvency in December 2024, BairdMaritime.com reported. Hendrik Gittermann, one of two assigned provisional insolvency administrators, confirmed that discussions with interested parties have reached an advanced stage. However, Gittermann ruled out the complete and immediate resumption of production at the group's Rendsburg and Flensburg sites by the beginning of February even as the group comes under new management.

Element, once hailed as a promising player in the German insurtech sector, has declared insolvency following restrictions imposed by the Bundesanstalt für Finanzdienstleistungsaufsicht (BaFin), the Pinnacle Gazette reported. The decision to halt the sale of new policies proved financially debilitating, leading the company to file for bankruptcy. This situation casts doubt on the future of innovative insurance offerings within the industry.

FSG Nobiskrug shipyards has received several offers from potential investors. These are industry-related companies from Germany, not financial investors, MarineLink.com reported. This was reported by the provisional insolvency administrators Dr Christoph Morgen and Hendrik Gittermann at an event in Rendsburg on 17 January. The occasion was the visit of Schleswig-Holstein's Prime Minister Daniel Guenther and State Minister of Economic Affairs Claus Ruhe Madsen to a staff meeting at the invitation of the workers’ union “IG Metall Rendsburg”.

Germany’s economy contracted for a second year in a row in 2024, underlining the scale of the challenge that will face a new government after elections due in February, including the possibility of fresh tariffs on exports to the U.S., the Wall Street Journal reported. Economic output in Europe’s largest economy sank 0.2% last year after it declined 0.3% in 2023, the first two-year contraction since 2003, the federal statistics agency said Wednesday. That performance contrasts with the U.S., where growth has been surprisingly rapid over the same period.

German auto parts supplier Webasto SE is kicking off negotiations for a far-reaching overhaul under the aegis of a chief restructuring officer in response to the “ongoing crisis” in the automotive industry, according to a statement Jan. 13, Bloomberg News reported. Webasto reached a stabilization agreement with bank lenders and holders of its Schuldschein notes on Dec. 23, paving the way for a more holistic restructuring, the statement said. Johann Stohner from consultancy firm Alvarez & Marsal will be appointed chief restructuring officer from Jan. 15 to manage the process.

One of the German lenders that saw its riskiest type of debt slump when concerns about the state of US commercial real estate market spread across the world last year, is now looking to replace the bond, Bloomberg New reported. Aareal Bank AG is offering to buy back a €300 million ($308 million) so-called Additional Tier 1 bond and exercise the option to repay it in April if any of it is left outstanding, it announced on Tuesday. This is contingent on issuing new AT1s denominated in U.S. dollars.

Berlin has sounded out potential buyers for Uniper in a deal that could see the government selling its entire holding in the $18.8 billion energy utility, Reuters reported. Germany's government, which owns 99.12% of the company after nationalising it in 2022 during Europe's energy crisis, is pursuing a partial stake sale, or re-IPO, of around 25% as a preferred option, but is also weighing exiting its holding in one go. Parties that have been approached about a full sale include New York-headquartered Brookfield.

Germany is grappling with its worst wave of bankruptcies since the 2008 financial crisis, as 364 major companies declared bankruptcy in 2024, marking a dramatic 30% increase from the previous year, AL24News.com reported. The economic downturn has also led to a hiring freeze across many industries, with fewer German companies recruiting new employees. Meanwhile, the number of firms implementing job cuts is rising steadily, affecting nearly every sector.

German investment group Mutares SE & Co. said that its portfolio company Serneke Sverige AB has filed for bankruptcy in Sweden in the latest collapse of a builder in the biggest Nordic country, Bloomberg News reported. The filing at the Gothenburg District Court follows a “drastic financial deterioration during the second half of 2024,” according to a statement on Wednesday. The Swedish construction and real estate unit was agreed to be bought from Serneke Group AB in July last year and the transaction was completed in November.