The future of European e-bike start-up VanMoof is up in the air after the company secured court protection to explore options including a sale.
This week a court in the Netherlands appointed administrators to the Dutch company, which has raised over $100 million and is known for its sleek e-bikes and retail stores. The district court in Amsterdam also granted the company creditor protection.
Meanwhile the company has shuttered its physical retail stores for the time being.
“The court has also ordered a cooling down period of two months. Together with the management of VanMoof the administrators are currently assessing the situation in order to find a solution so that VanMoof can continue its activities,” a spokesperson for the company said.
“Due to the recent developments, we have decided to temporarily close the brand stores for the safety of our colleagues in the stores. We work hard to continue our services and will separately contact all customers as soon as possible regarding pending deliveries or repairs.”
VanMoof was founded in 2009 and released several iterations of its e-bike, usually retailing at around €2,000 but had released more bikes in recent years at different price points. The company had also established a network of brick-and-mortar retail stores in several European cities.
Investors in the company include several heavy hitter VC firms like Felix Capital and Balderton Capital.
Rumors had swirled for weeks about the status of VanMoof after some customers complained of issues with orders online.
The court order, which protects the company from paying its bills and creditors temporarily, gives the administrators a chance to assess the state of the company to avoid bankruptcy. Often that can mean a sale of the company.
VanMoof and similar companies had raised several rounds of VC funding in recent years to build and sell their e-bikes, hoping to establish a mass market appeal.
However the route has been bumpy. Recently Rad Power Bikes, an American company, pulled out of the European market to focus on the US.
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