As of: January 24, 2024, 3:45 p.m
By: Caspar Ibel
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Gigaset filed for bankruptcy in September 2023.
Now a buyer has been found.
The Hong Kong company VTech Holdings will take over the business from April.
Berlin – A buyer has been found for the insolvent cordless telephone and smartphone manufacturer Gigaset.
The Hong Kong rival VTech Holdings will take over the operational business including the production facilities in Bocholt, both companies announced on Wednesday (January 24th).
VTech sees itself as the largest manufacturer of landline telephones in the USA, but specializes primarily in electronic learning products for babies and preschool children.
Hillson Cheung, President of VTech Telecommunication Products said in a press release:.
“Gigaset’s product portfolio, European market leadership, advanced R&D capabilities and manufacturing excellence complement VTech perfectly.”
“Realignment and securing the economic future of operational business operations”
At the beginning of April, VTech will take over the Gigaset business via its Berlin landline telephone subsidiary Snom Solutions, which it had already acquired in 2016.
The Hongkongers take over all land, patents, technical equipment and supplies for the production of landline telephones.
“The planned realignment and economic future securing of the operational business will then take place on this basis,” explained Gigaset.
Gigaset.jpg © IMAGO/Manfred Segerer
A lack of demand had driven Gigaset into bankruptcy
Gigaset went bankrupt in the fall of 2023.
The reason for the bankruptcy was “an unexpected and significant decline in sales in the second half of the year”.
It said that the negotiations with lenders and lenders had “not been sufficiently fleshed out to secure the necessary inflow of funds to continue Gigaset outside of insolvency proceedings.”
At the time of bankruptcy, 850 people still worked for the company.
Even before the bankruptcy, Gigaset was Chinese-owned: The former Siemens subsidiary, which was sold in 2008, had been majority-owned since 2014 by the Chinese investor Sutong Pan through his investment company Goldin Financial Holdings.
(With material from Reuters)