Air taxi start-up Lilium is collecting less money than hoped

Dusseldorf The idea can inspire: Electric air taxis bring managers and tourists to their destinations – over traffic jams and obstacles, without complex runways and other preconditions. Several companies around the world are working on this idea, one of the hottest candidates is Lilium from Weßling near Munich, founded by engineers from the Technical University.

But now the German start-up has to accept a damper: it will collect less money than expected when it goes public.

To get fresh capital and global attention, Lilium wants to go public on the New York Stock Exchange. To do this, the start-up has chosen a modern and controversial way. It can be bought from a Special Purpose Acquisition Company (Spac), a shell company. But many shareholders are apparently skeptical of the plans of the Munich company: Two thirds of them have now got out.