KNV, the largest German book wholesaler and distributor, has filed for bankruptcy. The managing directors of the companies comprising the KNV Group filed for insolvency on Thursday, February 14, at the Stuttgart District Court. The delivery company LKG (Leipzig), which belongs to the group, is not affected by the action. It is expected that the company will continue to operate under insolvency administration for the time being.
Managing partner Oliver Voerster and KNV's management team had tried to find an investor to keep the business open. For months, a company statement reads, "they had fought with all their might to regain stability with an investor and were very disappointed and concerned that this had failed shortly before a positive conclusion."
In a statement, KNV said discussions with an investor had looked promising, but came to a surprising end on February 13. After the investors pulled out, KNV's bankers were unwilling to continue to finance the company, despite, the company said, a management plan that outlined a way forward for the company without funds from a new investors. The statement concluded by noting: "the management then decided that the basis for a positive continuation forecast was no longer given. The management was therefore obliged to apply for the opening of insolvency proceedings."
The insolvency administrator will probably start his work in the company soon. "We will not buy any more goods for the time being, but we will try to maintain the business operations of the wholesale business and the publishing house delivery as far as possible," Voerster told the German industry paper Buchreport.
This article was translated from a longer story that appeared in the German trade publication Buchreport.
