Better Place, once a symbol of Israeli high tech, filed for liquidation in the Lod district court on Sunday.
The Better Place electric car company, once the very symbol of Israeli
green innovation, filed for bankruptcy on Sunday asking the Lod District
Court to dissolve the company.
“Despite significant efforts over
that time frame, revenues are still insufficient to cover operating
costs, and in the light of the continued negative cash flow position,
the Board has decided that it has no option but to seek to make this
application to the courts for an orderly liquidation of the company,”
the company announced.
“This is a difficult day for all of us,”
said Better Place CEO Dan Cohen. Despite its innovative vision and
accomplishments, he said, the company was not financially viable.
“Unfortunately, after a year’s commercial operation, it was clear to us
that despite many satisfied customers, the wider public take up would
not be sufficient and that the support from the car producers was not
forthcoming.”
The company is likely to be studied in business school for years. I suspect it will be a model for a disconnect between visionary entrepreneurs and a public that isn't interested in the vision. Unfortunately, I suspect that other cleantech ventures - particularly those that are premised on paying more money (which Better Place claimed not to be) for energies that are cleaner during hard economic times - will go under.
Battery-powered car maker Better Place, which is an Israeli company, is going to be filing for bankruptcy in the next few days according to a report in Fortune Magazine.
The move will come seven months after the ouster
of charismatic founder Shai Agassi, and five months after his successor
-- Evan Thornley, CEO of Better Place Australia -- also departed.
Agassi also was a significant shareholder in the company, which had
raised more than $700 million from firms like HSBC, General Electric (GE), Israel Corp., Lazard Asset Management (LAZ), Morgan Stanley (MS) and VantagePoint Capital Partners.
Better Place originally launched in late 2007 to build out a network
of battery-swapping stations for electric cars (basically a twist on
charging stations). Its premise was that the electric car market would
eventually take off thanks to rising oil prices and the decline of
traditional automakers. And, when that happened, Better Place already
would be built out and ready to serve.
But when oil hit $125 per barrel and General Motors (GM) filed for bankruptcy within just 18 months into Better Place's existence, it failed to successfully execute.
One of the largest holders of Better Place is Israel Corp., which held one third of the company until Better Place raised $100 million in November 2012(!), much of which came from Israel Corp.
The Israeli business journal Globes also reported yesterday
that Better Place’s main investor Israel Corp had been mulling over
whether Better Place will be able to continue its operations.
The Globes piece estimated that Better Place would need another four years and $500 million to reach break even. Better Place just raised $100 million
back in November 2012, with much of it coming from Israel Corporation.
Before that deal, Israel Corp owned about a third of the company and
held a $160 million loss.
I haven't seen anywhere how much the US government poured into Better Place, but it's not an insubstantial amount.
You might recall SodaStream, the first Israeli company to advertise on the Super Bowl. You might also recall that there were objections to SodaStream advertising because they have a plant in Judea. Well, guess whom they employ.
Caesaria-based Emefcy Ltd., a wastewater treatment company, was named Early Stage Company of the Year and selected to the Global Cleantech 100 list for the second year in a row at the Global Cleantech 100 Summit and Gala held in Washington, DC, on Monday and Tuesday.
Founded in 2008, Emefcy develops different technologies that treat wastewater, with the goal of being as economically efficient and energy-efficient as possible, the company said. Two of its major technologies, the Electrogenic Bio- Reactor and the Spiral Aerobic Bio-Reactor, allow the wastewater treatment mechanism to simultaneously generate renewable energy that can be funneled into national grids.
“Being given the Early Stage Company of the Year Award is a vote of confidence in Emefcy’s vision of changing the economics of wastewater treatment,” said its co-founder and CEO, Eytan Levy, in the statement.
“We are also excited by the recognition Emefcy has gained among corporate community and regulators to be named as one of the Global Cleantech 100.”
I am an Orthodox Jew - some would even call me 'ultra-Orthodox.' Born in Boston, I was a corporate and securities attorney in New York City for seven years before making aliya to Israel in 1991 (I don't look it but I really am that old :-). I have been happily married to the same woman for thirty-five years, and we have eight children (bli ayin hara) ranging in age from 13 to 33 years and nine grandchildren. Four of our children are married! Before I started blogging I was a heavy contributor on a number of email lists and ran an email list called the Matzav from 2000-2004. You can contact me at: IsraelMatzav at gmail dot com
