It had been clear for some time that Fanatec was on the brink of collapse. Corsair had already expressed interest months ago and is now taking over the business.
As early as May, there were initial reports that Corsair was interested in taking over Endor AG, which is best known for its Fanatec steering wheels. Corsair officially expressed this interest in a press release, which also mentioned that the steering wheel manufacturer was in debt to the tune of around 70 million US dollars.
After that, things went pretty quiet about the potential deal until Endor AG finally had to file for bankruptcy in the summer. That would essentially mean the end for the company and its Fanatec brand, which has been established for almost 20 years, but now it is official that Corsair is stepping in and taking over Endor AG’s business operations as part of an asset deal.
In one official announcement of Endor AG states: “Insolvency proceedings were opened over the assets of Endor AG by order of the Landshut insolvency court on September 13, 2024. Attorney Dr. Hubert Ampferl, partner at the law firm Dr. Beck & Partner, was appointed insolvency administrator. As part of an asset deal, CORSAIR (Nasdaq: CRSR) has acquired the business operations of Endor AG. The shares in the foreign subsidiaries will also be transferred. CORSAIR will also take over all of Endor AG’s ongoing employment contracts. Endor AG will be completely wound up as part of the insolvency proceedings and its stock exchange listing will be discontinued in the near future. Shareholders must expect not to receive any payments. The company property is still for sale.”
Now it remains to be seen how Corsair will handle the takeover. Business operations will apparently continue as usual for the time being. It is currently unclear whether Corsair will ultimately continue to use the Fanatec brand or sell the products under its own brand after a likely restructuring. However, since previous takeovers such as SCUF or Elgato were still carried on under the brands, it is not unlikely that Corsair will also retain the established Fanatec brand.
For Corsair, however, the acquisition of Endor is certainly an interesting addition to the portfolio, after the company had already acquired SCUF, a well-known manufacturer of controllers, and itself has a range of peripherals for PCs and consoles in its lineup.
