FRANKFURT (dpa-AFX) - Speculators are currently earning a lot of money with the Compleo Charging share. Apparently, they are betting on a future for the charging column manufacturer or parts of it in view of the insolvency proceedings, as a rapid price recovery since the pre-Christmas period shows. On Thursday, the pace increased again with a recent 40 percent rise in the share price to 5.08 euros. The fall height becomes immense with it again, should there be further bad news, it was said at the market.

The share price of the Dortmund-based company has meanwhile increased more than six-fold since the record low shortly before Christmas. At that time, the share had initially become a so-called penny stock - i.e. a share with a value of less than one euro - because of the insolvency proceedings that had been initiated. At peak times in late summer 2021, prices of over 100 euros were still being paid for the shares. At that time, Compleo had been considered a winner in e-mobility.

Shortly before Christmas, insolvency proceedings had been initiated with a petition. Nevertheless, Compleo had recently received a major order from the energy supplier SachsenEnergie to supply charging stations. The framework agreement with the customer runs until the end of 2025 and includes a contract volume of over two million euros, the company announced.

The recovery is also likely to be linked to speculation about Compleo's future. Automobilwoche, for example, reported in early January that talks with investors were underway. According to the report, which is now several weeks old, two automotive suppliers are also said to be interested. In December, talks were said to have already been held with automotive supplier ZF Friedrichshafen and mechatronics company Kostal about an investment.

"In addition to the software business, Compleo probably has some assets that could prove very valuable in the hands of owners who are either better financed or have competitive production," Warburg expert Stefan August had said immediately after the insolvency filing became known. He referred, for example, to patents. At the same time, however, he had estimated the probability that the process would end well for investors to be rather low.

A few days before Christmas, the application for insolvency proceedings caused the share price to plummet by 86 percent in a single day. Then, on the day before Christmas Eve, it became known that the Dortmund District Court had ordered provisional insolvency proceedings in self-administration over the assets of Compleo Charging Solutions AG and Compleo Charging Technologies GmbH.

This confirmed the concerns of Warburg expert Augustin, who had repeatedly warned of financial risks and therefore advised selling the shares in September. Compleo was running out of funds and negotiations with potential investors as well as some shareholders, for example on bridge financing, had failed, analyst Yasmin Steilen of Berenberg Bank had analyzed after the application. Since then, both experts have held back with further statements./tih/ag/jha/