In January, the Munich startup Zenloop surprisingly filed for bankruptcy. A buyer has now been found who will continue the business.
A new chapter is beginning for the Berlin startup Zenloop: The software company, which filed for bankruptcy earlier this year, will be taken over by SaaS.Group GmbH on April 1. The aggregator for SaaS products was awarded the contract in a bidding process as part of the bankruptcy proceedings and will continue Zenloop’s business operations, as the startup announced on Wednesday.
The investors behind the SaaS Group include Tim Schumacher, Tobias Schlottke and Ulrich Essmann. Schlottke was previously invested in Zenloop as a business angel.
“The procedure was characterized by an unusually high level of interest from many parties and tough bidding competition,” says insolvency administrator Torsten Martini to Gründerszene. No further details were given on the purchase price for the startup.
read too
Also effective April 1st, Zenloop founder and CEO Paul Schwarzenholz will be leaving the company. “As the company enters this new phase, I have decided to take different paths personally,” he shared. “My immediate focus will now be on my family. I look forward to exploring more business opportunities and realizing new entrepreneurial ideas.”
Funding problems led to bankruptcy
Schwarzenholz founded Zenloop in 2016 together with Björn Kolbmüller. The startup offers a software solution for companies that can be used to evaluate customer feedback. At the end of January 2023, Zenloop surprisingly filed for bankruptcy because, according to its own statements, a convertible loan broke down at short notice.
“We have taken all measures to become profitable in the shortest possible time,” writes founder Schwarzenholz on the occasion of the takeover in an email to the Zenloop employees, which is available for the founding scene. “Unfortunately, we stumbled upon funding issues in January.”
The startup had already embarked on a drastic austerity course and laid off dozens of employees. It is not yet known what will happen to the remaining employees after the takeover. According to the internal mail, you should be informed about the next steps on Thursday morning.