The Lyon commercial court opted for the offer of the Franche-Comté Gaussin to take over the company Navya, a specialist in autonomous driving placed in receivership at the beginning of February.
The Navya company, a specialist in autonomous driving placed in receivership at the beginning of February, will be taken over by the Franche-Comté Gaussin, in partnership with the Japanese Macnica, according to a decision on Tuesday from the Lyon commercial court.
The court opted for the offer presented by Gaussin, manufacturer of autonomous electric or hydrogen vehicles for the transport of goods in closed sites, whose headquarters are in Héricourt (Haute-Saône). The group’s customers include big names in logistics (Amazon, UPS, etc.), port or airport sites (Port of Singapore, etc.) or underground sites.
This offer, for a sale price of 1.4 million euros, provides for the takeover of 143 employees of Navya, out of just over 200, and also proposes the reclassification of 21 employees via its subsidiary Metalliance, which is located in Saint-Vallier (Saône-et-Loire). Six additional jobs will be saved in Singapore, Gaussin said in a separate statement.
“It is a clear demonstration of the resilience of the “Made in France” model, in which we believe. The skills, technology and expertise will remain here in our territories”, welcomed Christophe Gaussin, CEO of the eponymous group, quoted in the press release.
The takeover will take place through the creation of a new company which will take over the assets of Navya, based in France, majority owned by Gaussin (51%) and the remaining 49% by Macnica.
Objective of 23 million euros in turnover
“We have a great project with two industrial players, Gaussin, which has a very complementary activity in terms of the type of autonomous vehicles, and Macnica, a large Japanese group which (already) uses Navya shuttles”, summarizes Jean-Claude Bailly, current vice-president of Gaussin who will take the direction of the joint venture, joined by AFP.
In the home stretch, two offers were accepted by the court, both made by experienced players in the sector. The other offer came from Electramobilys, a group based in Calais, specializing in the design and manufacture of light utility vehicles, in partnership with the Alten group. It provided for the recovery of 173 employees.
Gaussin’s offer is “superior (…) at the level of the criterion of the sustainability of the activity”, estimated the court in its decision, with “financing of the activity to the tune of 25 million euros over the next three years, including 15 million already secured”.
“The new joint venture is aiming for a turnover of 23 million euros from the first year, mainly for export”, specifies Gaussin.
“Macnica, as a major player in semiconductors, and Gaussin as a leader in French industrial logistics, are perfectly positioned to ensure the international development and new commercial applications of our autonomous mobility systems”, reacted Olivier Le Cornec, until now at the head of Navya, quoted in Gaussin’s press release.
Navya’s listing on Euronext, suspended since January 25will not resume, the company said in a statement.
