Sim racing hardware manufacturer Fanatec and its parent company Endor have extended the contract of CEO and CRO Andres Ruff. Meanwhile, "strategic investor" Corsair has made its first payment to save the company - and now holds multiple Fanatec design trademarks.
UPDATE JULY 2, 2024, 15:00 UTC
In addition to the number of design trademarks mentioned in the original article, Corsair also owns the Fanatec brand according to the German Patent and Trade Mark Office. The change has occurred on May 31, 2024.
This appears to be part of the restructuring strategy, with the trademarks and brand ownership acting as security for the payments made by Corsair. Upon request, OverTake received the following statement from the US hardware manufacturer:
"We have made several loans to Endor AG as part of our Rescue package for the company. This is all part of the restructuring process to get Endor back as a profitable entity. We have taken various collateral against the loans, part of which is certain IP and trademarks."
We have also requested a statement from Fanatec and will add it to this article once we receive a reply.
ORIGINAL ARTICLE JULY 1, 2024, 16:20 UTC
A key figure in the restructuring of Fanatec and its parent company Endor AG stays with the company: Appointed in April, Andres Ruff will continue in his role as CEO and CRO (Chief Restructuring Officer) of the Landshut-based company. The extended contract ends on September 30, 2024. Ruff followed Founder Thomas Jackermeier, who was dismissed from his role to fulfill "a key condition set by the lending banks for the extension of the standstill agreement until June 30, 2024". Said standstill agreement had recently been extended again as well.
"I am confident that, together with our partners, we will secure the continuation of Endor AG at the Landshut site and put the company back on sustainable path with structurally healthy growth", stated Ruff.
Since Ruff's appointment, the restructuring of the company has made progress according to Endor press releases, with US hardware giant Corsair taking on the role of "strategic investor". The plan is for Corsair to provide emergency funding in "tranches" to keep Endor from going insolvent. Eventually, it also sees Corsair take over Endor/Fanatec as a debt-free company.
Fanatec Founder Thomas Jackermeier.
Meanwhile, a string of comments supposedly made by Jackermeier has surfaced on the German Wallstreet Online forums. The posts go into detail about the Jackermeier's dismissal and harshly criticize the planned takeover and numerous staff who are supposedly involved. Allegedly, Corsair had tried to acquire Fanatec as early as 2022. The posts also make serious accusations towards the current management of Endor.
Whether or not the posts have indeed been made by Jackermeier himself is not clear yet. We are working on veryfing the authenticity of the posts.
The StaRUG procedure has been initiated in early June and is pending approval by the Restructuring Court in Munich. Part of the restructuring plan "includes a partial waiver by the banks and a complete capital reduction, which would lead to current shareholders leaving the company without compensation and to the Endor AG shares delisting from the Open Market".
Meanwhile, Corsair has apparently acquired several of Fanatec's design trademarks, according to the German Patent and Trademark Office. This includes both the QR1 and QR2 designs, as well as the ClubSport DD+ and CSL DD wheel bases, the Podium Button Module Endurance, and several more.
The change in ownership of these design trademarks has taken place in May of 2024, according to the documentation on the individual designs' entries.
Perhaps most interestingly, the design for what looks to be the Porsche Vision GT steering wheel is also among them. While never announced by Fanatec, the wheel does feature the same connection pin pattern on the back as other Fanatec wheels, and the manufacturer has partnered with Polyphony Digital and PlayStation Studios since 2021, resulting in the Gran Turismo DD Extreme and Gran Turismo DD Pro bundles.
The VGT's steering wheel looks futuristic, but not unrealistically so. However, the virtual version's eye-catcher in the cockpit is the holographic dashboard, which had been substituted by a plexiglass version for the show car.
The in-game steering wheel of the Porsche Vision GT in GT7 (left) and the show car's version. Images: Sony Interactive Entertainment / Polyphony Digital / Porsche Newsroom
Renders of the actual Porsche Vision GT Sim Racing wheel are available with the patent. It features at least eight buttons, four thumb encoders, two rotary switches and what looks like the usual Fanatec setup of a joystick and Funky Switch. On the back, the render shows two shifter paddles, but no analog clutch paddles.
Could there be more to come, though? The wheel itself does not have a display, but the aforementioned HUD could make for an interesting accessory - even as the plexiglass version that the show car featured.
A render of the supposed Porsche Vision GT sim racing wheel included with the patent filing. Image: Fanatec/Corsair/DPMA
The Porsche Vision GT was announced for Gran Turismo 7 in late 2021 after originally being set to appear in Gran Turismo Sport already. The fully electric car features a maximum power output of 1,098 bhp and even got a roof-less variant added to GT7 via update 1.23 in September of 2022.
What do you make of the lates news surrounding Endor AG and Fanatec? Let us know on Twitter @OverTake_gg or in the comments below!
UPDATE JULY 2, 2024, 15:00 UTC
In addition to the number of design trademarks mentioned in the original article, Corsair also owns the Fanatec brand according to the German Patent and Trade Mark Office. The change has occurred on May 31, 2024.
This appears to be part of the restructuring strategy, with the trademarks and brand ownership acting as security for the payments made by Corsair. Upon request, OverTake received the following statement from the US hardware manufacturer:
"We have made several loans to Endor AG as part of our Rescue package for the company. This is all part of the restructuring process to get Endor back as a profitable entity. We have taken various collateral against the loans, part of which is certain IP and trademarks."
We have also requested a statement from Fanatec and will add it to this article once we receive a reply.
ORIGINAL ARTICLE JULY 1, 2024, 16:20 UTC
A key figure in the restructuring of Fanatec and its parent company Endor AG stays with the company: Appointed in April, Andres Ruff will continue in his role as CEO and CRO (Chief Restructuring Officer) of the Landshut-based company. The extended contract ends on September 30, 2024. Ruff followed Founder Thomas Jackermeier, who was dismissed from his role to fulfill "a key condition set by the lending banks for the extension of the standstill agreement until June 30, 2024". Said standstill agreement had recently been extended again as well.
"I am confident that, together with our partners, we will secure the continuation of Endor AG at the Landshut site and put the company back on sustainable path with structurally healthy growth", stated Ruff.
Since Ruff's appointment, the restructuring of the company has made progress according to Endor press releases, with US hardware giant Corsair taking on the role of "strategic investor". The plan is for Corsair to provide emergency funding in "tranches" to keep Endor from going insolvent. Eventually, it also sees Corsair take over Endor/Fanatec as a debt-free company.
Fanatec Founder Thomas Jackermeier.
Meanwhile, a string of comments supposedly made by Jackermeier has surfaced on the German Wallstreet Online forums. The posts go into detail about the Jackermeier's dismissal and harshly criticize the planned takeover and numerous staff who are supposedly involved. Allegedly, Corsair had tried to acquire Fanatec as early as 2022. The posts also make serious accusations towards the current management of Endor.
Whether or not the posts have indeed been made by Jackermeier himself is not clear yet. We are working on veryfing the authenticity of the posts.
StaRUG Procedure Initiated In June
Furthermore, the procedure agreed upon by Endor and Corsair has started, making use of the so-called StaRUG, a German law that allows companies to restructure and stabilize themselves before being bankrupt. Essentially, a company making use of this procedure can set up their own rescue plan and include select debtors instead of all of them, like insolvency proceedings would include.The StaRUG procedure has been initiated in early June and is pending approval by the Restructuring Court in Munich. Part of the restructuring plan "includes a partial waiver by the banks and a complete capital reduction, which would lead to current shareholders leaving the company without compensation and to the Endor AG shares delisting from the Open Market".
Corsair provides €4 million - and owns design trademarks?
Corsair is also part of the restructuring plan, as mentioned above. The company has made the first of the assured payment "tranches" over €4 million in its first bid to stabilize Endor. According to the press release announcing this payment, this provides "financial leeway to effectively implement the ongoing restructuring measures and will make a decisive contribution to securing the company's operational stability and driving forward the reorganisation measures".Meanwhile, Corsair has apparently acquired several of Fanatec's design trademarks, according to the German Patent and Trademark Office. This includes both the QR1 and QR2 designs, as well as the ClubSport DD+ and CSL DD wheel bases, the Podium Button Module Endurance, and several more.
The change in ownership of these design trademarks has taken place in May of 2024, according to the documentation on the individual designs' entries.
Perhaps most interestingly, the design for what looks to be the Porsche Vision GT steering wheel is also among them. While never announced by Fanatec, the wheel does feature the same connection pin pattern on the back as other Fanatec wheels, and the manufacturer has partnered with Polyphony Digital and PlayStation Studios since 2021, resulting in the Gran Turismo DD Extreme and Gran Turismo DD Pro bundles.
Porsche Vision GT Steering Wheel
All business aspects aside, this also means that a Porsche Vision GT steering wheel should see the light of day for sim racers eventually. Being a VGT car, it is a virtual vehicle only, aside from a show car that Porsche presented at GamesCom in 2022.The VGT's steering wheel looks futuristic, but not unrealistically so. However, the virtual version's eye-catcher in the cockpit is the holographic dashboard, which had been substituted by a plexiglass version for the show car.
The in-game steering wheel of the Porsche Vision GT in GT7 (left) and the show car's version. Images: Sony Interactive Entertainment / Polyphony Digital / Porsche Newsroom
Renders of the actual Porsche Vision GT Sim Racing wheel are available with the patent. It features at least eight buttons, four thumb encoders, two rotary switches and what looks like the usual Fanatec setup of a joystick and Funky Switch. On the back, the render shows two shifter paddles, but no analog clutch paddles.
Could there be more to come, though? The wheel itself does not have a display, but the aforementioned HUD could make for an interesting accessory - even as the plexiglass version that the show car featured.
A render of the supposed Porsche Vision GT sim racing wheel included with the patent filing. Image: Fanatec/Corsair/DPMA
The Porsche Vision GT was announced for Gran Turismo 7 in late 2021 after originally being set to appear in Gran Turismo Sport already. The fully electric car features a maximum power output of 1,098 bhp and even got a roof-less variant added to GT7 via update 1.23 in September of 2022.
What do you make of the lates news surrounding Endor AG and Fanatec? Let us know on Twitter @OverTake_gg or in the comments below!
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