Insect protein: in difficulty, the start-up Ynsect requests to be placed in receivership

The start-up Ynsect , which specialises in the production of insect-based proteins and fertilisers, has requested its placement in receivership before the commercial court of Evry (Essonne), a spokesperson for the company announced.

The French company had launched a call for investors or buyers in January as part of a safeguard procedure, and offers could be submitted to the receiver until February 17. But Ynsect, which will be insolvent at the end of March, "was not able to reach an agreement on the financing of a safeguard plan, despite extensive negotiations and work," explained the start-up's spokesperson. To facilitate a potential rapid takeover of all or part of its assets by "potential buyers who have expressed interest" or by any other new candidate, Ynsect has therefore filed "a request to convert the safeguard procedure into a judicial recovery procedure" with the Evry commercial court.

Specializing in the breeding and processing of insects for animal feed, human food and fertilizers, Ynsect has raised a total of $600 million from investors since its creation in 2011, but is now faced with the difficulty of scaling up its model. The company, whose head office is located in Essonne, has two production sites, near Dole (Jura) and Amiens (Somme).