French aircraft builder Lisa Airplanes, which showcased its luxury amphibious Akoya light sport aircraft at EAA AirVenture in Oshkosh, Wis., in July, has entered court-supervised receivership after investors failed to fulfill a financing commitment, the company said in a news release.
The company’s Aug. 16 announcement said the granting of its request to enter receivership—which occurred July 30—would have no effect on customer deposits.
“In July, Lisa Airplanes was finalising a fundraising bound to the commercial development of the company,” it said. “The terms of negotiation anticipated a progressive and long term financing. As the selected investors were not able to fulfill their commitment, and the historical shareholders could not secure Lisa Airplanes’ financial plan, the founders decided to place the company into receivership on July 30th in order to protect its future. This situation has no impact on our clients’ deposits, all of them being under a bank warranty.”
Addressing future plans, Lisa noted “the great response of the American market during the first presentation of the Akoya at the Oshkosh AirVenture 2012 show” was among reasons for optimism about financing to be sought during “a six-month phase of observation.”
AOPA reported during AirVenture that Lisa planned to deliver its two-seat retractable-gear, ski, and hydrofoil-equipped aircraft in Europe in 2013 and in the United States in 2014. The aircraft is priced at $390,000 and flies at 120 knots under U.S. speed restrictions for LSAs.
