The latest news from the crisis-ridden bicycle industry comes from Bavaria, where Syntace Gmbh filed for insolvency proceedings at the Traunstein District Court on October 14. The German component and bicycle manufacturer, which also owns the Liteville brand, deliberately took this step in order to continue the ongoing restructuring process. Syntace, which was once founded by the inventor and designer of the legendary Liteville 301 Jo Klieber, was only acquired by the Austrian Pierer Group, which manufactures KTM motorcycles, in 2022. However, the new 70 percent owner - 30 percent remained with founder Klieber - soon ran into serious economic turbulence and applied for a so-called European restructuring procedure in November 2024, which will now run until 2027. These are pre-insolvency proceedings, which were applied for the first time in Austria. For Syntace, this meant immediately looking for a new partner, and a buyback by Klieber himself was also on the cards.

Insolvency administrator now in charge

However, nothing came of this. Instead, the company filed for insolvency in October. Unlike YT Industries recently, however, it is not an insolvency under self-administration. This means that Syntace has been appointed an insolvency administrator by the court, who must now approve all further steps taken by the management. As part of the ongoing restructuring process, the management intends to tackle the new start with a new investor. Talks with this new investor are already "well advanced". The aim is to find "a viable and sustainable solution for the future of the Syntace and Liteville brands". "The talks with the investor are proceeding very constructively. Our goal is to secure the long-term future of our employees, our partners and our products," explains the Syntace management.

The company management emphasizes that the insolvency does not mean any disadvantages for Liteville riders and Syntace users. Ongoing business operations are fully guaranteed. All orders and inquiries via the online store will be processed as usual. Deliveries to dealers and the supply of spare parts for Liteville products are also guaranteed.