Fintech Acatus files for insolvency

For the Berlin-based fintech Acatus, it is now a matter of finding a potential buyer. This could still avert the end.

Insolvency is not always the end: fintech Acatus wants to continue its operations and there are enough orders. Nevertheless, the Berlin-based company has filed for insolvency, as Finance Forward reports. The provisional insolvency administrator Gordon Geiser says about the future of Acatus: "Business operations are to be maintained without restriction during the proceedings. The aim of the proceedings is to find a sustainable investor solution for the startup." And "the implementation of further securitizations during the proceedings remains possible without restriction".

According to information from Finance Forward, the company failed to conclude a financing round as there was no agreement among the shareholders. Geiser says of the next steps: "The aim of the proceedings is to find a sustainable investor solution for the start-up."

Founder Daniel Wigbers is also hopeful that he will be able to lead his start-up through this crisis. His co-founder Marie Louise Seelig only recently left Acatus, and differences between her and investors are also said to have played a role.

It was also said that the shareholders would have liked more banking expertise in the Acatus team. The fintech responded to this wish by bringing Marco Zimmermann from Deutsche Bank and the former Managing Director at Santander, Igor Smirnov, into the management team.

Founded in 2016, the fintech raised eight million euros by the end of 2019, five million euros of which were loans. Acatus sends out individual securitizations via its loan portal.