Key facts
- Varta AG has filed for insolvency proceedings under self-administration.
- The company cited a projected funding gap from 2027 as the primary reason.
- Worsening market conditions and a key customer's decision to terminate a partnership also contributed.
- Apple reportedly decided to source AirPods battery cells from China, impacting Varta.
- The profitable household battery business is excluded from the insolvency proceedings.
- Three subsidiaries, Varta Microbattery, Varta Micro Production, and Varta Storage, are included.
German battery manufacturer Varta AG has filed for insolvency proceedings under self-administration, citing a projected funding gap from 2027. The company stated that the filing was not due to an immediate inability to meet payment obligations, but rather a combination of significantly worsening market conditions, weaker demand, adverse exchange-rate movements, and the recent termination of a partnership with a key customer.
According to reports from Reuters and German media, this key customer is Apple, which has reportedly decided to source rechargeable CoinPower button cells for its AirPods from China. Varta CEO Michael Ostermann acknowledged the significant challenges the company has faced in recent quarters and expressed a commitment to preserving jobs and ensuring the company's sustainability.
Varta, which was delisted from stock exchanges in March 2025 as part of an earlier restructuring, is a privately held company. Shareholders, including sports car maker Porsche AG and Austrian investor Michael Tojner, have reportedly declined to provide additional funding to the struggling firm.
The insolvency proceedings cover Varta Microbattery, Varta Micro Production, and Varta Storage. However, the profitable household battery business, Varta Consumer Batteries, is legally separate and excluded from the proceedings. Production is expected to continue, and wages and salaries will still be paid. Tobias Wahl, a lawyer with restructuring firm Anchor, has been appointed as the provisional supervisor, overseeing the proceedings while Varta's management remains in control.