Energica enters liquidation bankruptcy after 10 years of business

Energica Motor Company, a manufacturer of high-performance electric motorcycles 75 percent controlled by the American fund Ideanomics Inc., announces that its Board of Directors meeting held on October 14 resolved to enter into a bankruptcy judicial liquidation.

Officially founded in 2014, and with a design phase that began in 2009, the Energica has established itself over 15 years as a benchmark for high-performance electric mobility, demonstrating resilience and innovation.

Thanks to its technical know-how, Energica has introduced four technological platforms to the market and has served as the exclusive manufacturer of the fourth MotoGP electric category, the FIM Enel MotoE World Cup, for four consecutive years. Despite the challenges posed by the global pandemic, Energica achieved record sales volumes and revenues with the launch of the Experia model.

Energica’s entrepreneurial vision has been supported and financed from the outset by its founding partners, who in 2016 decided to list the company in the AIM Italia sector (now Euronext Growth Milan), dedicated to innovative Italian SMEs, to secure the necessary capital for growth that they could no longer sustain alone. The company was listed with a capitalization of €37.3 million ($40.3 million USD).

In 2021, with the investment from Ideanomics Inc., Energica launched the Experia model, achieving record sales volumes and revenues of €13 million, a 200 percent increase compared to 2021. In March 2022, Ideanomics completed a voluntary takeover bid, which allowed the shareholders to transform the company into a private entity, making it more free and flexible in managing financing and agile in its growth.

However, the subsequent crisis in the electric market and the decline in sector investments impacted Ideanomics, and consequently, compromised Energica’s investment capabilities.

The company has also faced challenges from the downturn in the automotive market and supply chain and has been particularly affected as a small and medium-sized enterprise. The commitment to its objectives and mission has remained steadfast, as demonstrated by initiatives like the solidarity contract aimed at safeguarding workers and overcoming the difficult period.

Despite the efforts from management in actively and extensively pursuing a search for new investors, these alternative options are no longer viable, leaving the company with no other choice than resolving the opening of a bankruptcy judicial liquidation, allowing repayment of creditors to the extent possible from the proceeds of liquidation and according to pari passu rule and priority rankings.

Throughout its history, the company has consistently invested in its workforce, training staff in innovative skills in the electric mobility sector, without making any contract terminations in its 15 years of activity. The founding members have prioritized young talent, collaborating closely with schools and universities across the country and beyond. The average age of Energica employees has always ranged from 28 to 35 years.

Management has guaranteed salaries even during the most challenging periods, thanks to the support of the Italian minority shareholders, to preserve business continuity and for the best interest of creditors and all stakeholders. In the last two years, some employees have voluntarily left the company; these professionals have since been absorbed by major players in the Motor Valley.

According to the Italian newspaper Chronica, which was shared by Electrek.com, Energica’s employees have been preparing to strike in response to financial uncertainty regarding their employment futures.

“For months the company has been in a serious economic and financial crisis, with the 50 employees on solidarity contracts,” the publication reports.

Italy’s Istituto Nazionale della Previdenza Sociale (INPS), the Italian version of social security, has been paying the workers contract wages. The INPS can pay wages when employers cannot make payroll.

With the contracts expiring, Energica employees reportedly threatened to strike, and a bankruptcy deal was imminent.