German billionaire’s firm seeks insolvency proceedings against Landa Labs over €16 million debt

Altana BV, the Dutch company owned by German billionaire Susanne Klatten, has asked the Central District Court in Israel to open insolvency proceedings against Landa Labs, the technology development company of serial entrepreneur Benny Landa. The petition says Landa Labs failed to repay a €16 million loan for more than a year after it fell due.

According to Altana’s lawyers, Guy Ido, Itai Shani and Keren Reichbach Segal of Gornitzky, Landa Labs proposed amending the loan agreement and admitted financial difficulties, saying it could not repay on time and asking for an extension and changed terms. The request also involved arranging a $10 million loan from Bank Mizrahi Tefahot, but after the borrower accepted the proposal, Mizrahi decided to withdraw the financing.

Altana was one of the lead investors in Landa’s corporate group, alongside the now-sold Landa Digital Printing. That company, which was sold to Fimi, left creditors including Altana and Klatten with only NIS 74.5 million recovered out of debts of about NIS 1.7 billion. Landa Digital Printing was one of two Landa companies that entered insolvency and were sold, along with the artificial diamonds company Lusix.

Landa Labs differs from Landa Digital Printing because it is a technology incubator that develops products and spins them out once they are mature. It employs about half of the workers in Benny Landa’s group and has incubated three companies that were sold for a combined total of about $500 million. The best known was Coloriate, sold to L’Oréal. Benny Landa, the founder of Indigo, also runs Landa Ventures, an investment fund backing companies in which he holds shares, including Heiqon and the public company Gensel. No response was received from Landa.