Are there any plans for Laellium to expand its investor base in 2025?
Executive summary
Available reporting shows Lilium sought new capital around late 2024 and early 2025 via an investor consortium (Mobile Uplift Corporation) that agreed to invest roughly €200–€205 million to restart operations, with deal closing expected in early January 2025 [1] [2] [3] [4]. Subsequent accounts indicate that investor support was uncertain or fell through and that the company's restructuring and investor status remained in flux into 2025 [5] [6].
1. What Lilium publicly said about attracting new investors
Lilium announced an asset purchase agreement with Mobile Uplift Corporation, a consortium described as “experienced” and said the deal’s closing was expected in early January 2025; the company framed this as a “breakthrough” in its investor search [7]. Lilium’s own newsroom also described a funding round that it said would support development and enable operating a regional air‑mobility service as early as 2025, and cited existing backers such as Tencent and Atomico in earlier funding histories [8].
2. The consortium’s pledged money and stated timetable
Independent reporting and trade press consistently reported that the investor group intended to put more than €200 million into a relaunched Lilium (reported figures: “200 million euros” and “more than €200 million / $205 million”) to finance operations and bridge to market entry [2] [3] [4]. Multiple sources described the anticipated closing in early January 2025 and noted conditions such as creditor approval and customary sale conditions [1] [7].
3. Signs the investor plan was not fully consummated
Later coverage indicates the investor takeover did not complete as announced. Aviation International News and other summaries reported that the group of investors failed to complete the takeover of certain company assets and that Lilium’s eVTOL business was closed after the new investment fell through [5]. Aviation Week later described a separate potential suitor (AAMG) re‑emerging with plans in 2025 but those items are reported months after the January timeline and reflect ongoing uncertainty [6].
4. Competing narratives in sources and what they imply
Lilium’s corporate statements presented the Mobile Uplift agreement as near‑term and substantive [7]. Trade press and specialist outlets confirmed both the headline figures and the timetable but also emphasised conditionality — creditor approval and other legal steps [1] [3]. Subsequent reporting portrays a breakdown between intent and execution: some outlets record that promised funding “never materialized” and that processes stalled or failed [5] [4]. The two strands together mean announcements of planned investor expansion existed, but follow‑through was contested in reporting.
5. What the sources do not say (limits of available reporting)
Available sources do not provide a clear, contemporaneous disclosure that a fully executed, expanded investor base for Lilium in 2025 was in place; they do not provide final investor lists beyond the named Mobile Uplift consortium or full details of any completed capital injections beyond the reported intended €200m+ [1] [2] [3]. Sources do not include audited closing documentation or an investor relations update confirming finalised shareholdings post‑restructuring [9].
6. Practical reading: were there “plans” to expand investors in 2025?
Yes — multiple sources document concrete plans and a signed agreement with a consortium intending to invest and restart the business, with an explicit timetable for early January 2025 [7] [2] [3]. However, contemporaneous follow‑up reporting shows those plans were conditional and, by later accounts, did not proceed as originally described [5] [6]. The correct characterization is: publicly announced plans and commitments existed, but reporting also documents serious execution risk and subsequent failure to complete at least some promised transactions.
7. Why this matters for investors and observers
The discrepancy between announced investor commitments and later reports that the investment fell through highlights a common fault line in high‑risk deep‑tech financing: headline deals can be signed subject to insolvency‑court and creditor approvals and still collapse [1] [5]. Readers should treat early‑stage investor announcements as conditional until creditor approvals and cash transfers are independently confirmed [7] [5].
8. Bottom line
There were explicit, reported plans in late 2024 and early 2025 for Lilium to expand its investor base via a consortium (Mobile Uplift) pledging roughly €200m+, with deal close targeted for early January 2025 [1] [2] [3] [7]. Subsequent reporting documents that those investments were uncertain or failed to complete, meaning an expanded, secure investor base for Lilium in 2025 was not clearly established in available coverage [5] [6].