The French start-up, which offers 100% online home insurance, is on the verge of judicial liquidation, Argus de l’assurance learned on Thursday.
Back to square one. The French start-up Luko is looking for a new buyer. Placed in safeguard procedure since June 13, the online home insurance specialist will not be bought by the British Admiral Group, Insurance Argus learned on Thursday. In question, a loan granted to Luko in April 2022 by BNP Paribas.
The bank disputes the safeguard procedure initiated by Luko. Before the Bobigny commercial court, BNP Paribas allegedly requested to be reimbursed as a priority before other creditors, causing the failure of the agreement signed in June by Admiral Group for the purchase of Luko for 14 million euros. According to Argus de l’assurance, this operation will therefore not go through to the end.
Liquidation risk
In debt of 45 million euros, Luko had renegotiated the spread of its debts with the commercial court. But the plan didn’t go as planned. Advised by the investment bank Lazare, the start-up must now find another buyer if it wants to save the jobs of its 180 employees in France and its 500,000 home insurance contracts.
Before being placed in safeguard procedure in June, Luko had increased its acquisitions, including that of the German Coya and the French Unkle. However, it needed to raise funds to be able to finance these acquisitions and expand into the European market.
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A challenge that she will not have succeeded in overcoming, while fundraising is rare in tech. Several insurers on the market have reportedly been contacted to take over Luko, including Axa, Generali, Allianz and Wakam. The start-up has until November 7 to negotiate a takeover offer.
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2023-10-26 09:20:18
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