Corsair purchases Fanatec assets, Endor AG liquidated

American hardware giant Corsair has purchased all business assets of Endor AG, parent firm of sim racing peripheral manufacturer Fanatec, it has been announced this evening (13th September 2024).

In an official statement, Endor AG, which was formerly headed by long-time CEO Thomas Jackermeier before being ousted as part of a debt management agreement with banks, stated: 

“Corsair has acquired the business operations of Endor AG as part of an asset deal. The shares in the foreign subsidiaries will also be transferred. 

“Additionally, Corsair will take over all active employment contracts of Endor AG. Endor AG will be fully liquidated as part of the insolvency proceedings and its stock market listing will be terminated shortly. Shareholders should expect not to receive any payments. The company’s real estate remains up for sale”.

Crucially, this means Fanatec employees’ jobs are safe, at least for the time being, and Fanatec should remain a going concern in the sim racing space for the foreseeable future. Whether the brand name survives long-term is yet to be determined.

Jackermeier out of the picture

Shareholders in Endor AG, including Jackermeier, who reportedly owned up to 50 per cent of the business, will not receive any form of compensation from the sale, with all of Endor AG’s real estate, including Fanatec’s opulent Landshult-based headquarters, currently open to offers.

Fanatec’s financial liabilities sat at “more than” €95 million in July, with reportedly €70 million of that figure bank debt. This was in part caused by a tumultuous Black Friday 2023 sale where incorrectly discounted items and reports of slow customer service led to a breakdown in faith with the sim racing community. 

Additionally, the creation of a new headquarters and the delay of Fanatec’s ClubSport DD+ Wheel Base from late 2023 to earlier this year also caused further marketplace erosion.

This led to the dismissal of Jackermeier, with the new board unequivocal in appointing blame for the business’s dire financial situation:

‘“The Management Board sees the reasons for the massive corporate crisis in numerous wrong management decisions in recent years.

Examples include the oversized construction of the new company headquarters, miscalculated chip and merchandise orders that led to high write-downs and failures to introduce processes and systems worth millions.”

Corsair initially loaned Fanatec €4 million when its financial issues first surfaced. In return, it is understood to have received product designs and the brand name ‘Fanatec’ as surety.

How much financial outlay the deal cost Corsair, or what it plans to do with the Fanatec brand is unclear at the moment, but the Californian company has already made tentative steps into sim racing with its unnamed cockpit and has made no secret of its intentions to tap into the sim racing marketplace.

We have reached out to Thomas Jackermeier for comment.

What are your thoughts on Corsair’s acquisition of Fanatec? Let us know in the comments below.