If you thought the long-running Lilium saga had ended with Archer Aviation’s purchase of its patent portfolio, well, not quite: the collapsed developer’s two prototype aircraft remain up for sale having been excluded from that acquisition.
Insolvency administrator Ivo-Meinert Willrodt from restructuring specialist Pluta Rechtsanwalts confirmed on 15 October a legally binding agreement of €18 million ($21 million) with Archer for the patent portfolio of Lilium GmbH.
The German firm, and sister company Lilium eAircraft GmbH, had been in insolvency proceedings since October 2024 after failing to secure a crucial government-backed loan.
However, Pluta says over the coming months “the administrator will continue the sale of Lilium’s remaining assets”, which it confirms includes two prototypes of the Lilium Jet, which were in differing states of completion at the time the insolvency started.
While Archer has been keen to trumpet the strength of the patent portfolio, the fact that neither prototype has been acquired – one of which was destined to fly – is seemingly indictive of its lack of interest in continuing development of the Lilium Jet.
Archer beat off competition from fellow electric vertical take-off and landing developer Joby Aviation and a third company, Ambitious Air Mobility Group (AAMG), to secure the intellectual property.
AAMG, a previous customer for the Lilium Jet, had revealed in August that it was interested in continuing the programme through an asset purchase.
It has expressed strong disappointment in the sale to Archer, complaining that its “fully compliant and financially secured offer” of €30 million – which would have created jobs in Germany, it says – was not properly assessed.
“AAMG is deeply disappointed that its higher and secured offer was apparently not presented to the creditors’ committee in a transparent and consistent manner,” it says.
“This decision disregards creditor value, undermines German industry, and favours a bidder that has not shown the same commitment to jobs or local economic impact.”
But FlightGlobal understands that Pluta never received the funds required for the bank guarantee and had struggled to agree contractual terms with the would-be buyer.
While it declines to comment on the details of the negotiations for the purchase agreement, the company has pushed back on AAMG’s central claims: “The transaction was carried out on a clear and transparent decision-making basis,” says a spokesperson for the administrator.
“In the bidding process, it was very important for us to ensure the highest level of transaction, execution, and financing security.
“We conducted an orderly bidding process in co-ordination with both creditors’ committees; in addition, the secured creditors also approved the sale.”
