Acquisition and turnaround
- Situation
- A company in financial difficulty.
- Our role
- The STI group acquired the company and returned it to normal operation. Year, sector and further details are available under a confidentiality agreement.
Special situations
A company in difficulty can still have a technical future.
STI invests in and buys technology companies and assets in difficulty – before, during or after a formal procedure – in Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Poland and across Europe. We look at the technology first, then at the balance sheet, and our group's engineers assess what a restart needs.
Sale deadline? Send it first, with the date, time and time zone. Our first answer says whether we will look further; an enquiry does not reserve a bid or extend a deadline.
Four situations
The route depends on the company and on the procedure.
01
Funding pressure
No formal procedure yet.
Bridge or rescue investment, purchase of the business or a licence.
Directors' duties and payment deadlines continue to apply.
02
Restructuring
A plan is being agreed with creditors.
New investment in the plan, or purchase of a viable business unit.
03
Sale within a procedure
The authorised seller, often an insolvency practitioner, sells the business or assets.
Offer for the business, for asset lots or for the IP alone.
04
Unused or uncertain IP
The owner is dissolved, insolvent or no longer maintains the rights.
Identify the rights holder, then acquire or license.
The legal names of procedures differ between countries. In each case the applicable law, the seller's authority and the required approvals govern the transaction.
The European picture
More companies in difficulty across the EU – and technology at risk.
Business bankruptcy declarations in the EU are close to double their 2021 level. Insolvent technology companies can leave behind patents, code, equipment and people that can still be put to work – if someone who understands them steps in quickly.
Each country is indexed to its own 2021 level: the chart shows trends, not the number of cases. In Slovakia, declarations are below their 2021 level; we buy across Europe. Regional context only: each opportunity is assessed on its own evidence.
Source: Eurostat, sts_rb_q (updated 16 Sept 2026). Austria: provisional.
What we invest in or buy
Technology assets that are worth more in use than in a forced sale
Companies and business units
Technology SMEs and start-ups, non-core technology units of industrial groups, viable divisions of insolvent companies.
Patents and applications
Single patent families or portfolios, granted or pending, including families with fees due soon.
Software, code and data
Source code, models, datasets and documentation, together with the knowledge needed to keep them running.
Prototypes and equipment
Pilot lines, test benches, laboratory and measurement equipment, tooling – assessed by engineers, not valued as scrap.
Know-how and people
Employment of key specialists in a group company or a new company, planned separately and with their agreement.
Results of EU projects
Results of publicly funded projects, taken over together with the obligations attached to them.
Why STI
A buyer who understands what is being sold
- Own funds, no financing condition. We invest our own capital. Proof of funds is available on request.
- A clear answer within five working days on whether we will look further.
- A decision-maker in the conversation. The person you speak to can commit STI.
- Technical review by our own group. Engineers from our group companies examine code, equipment and test data.
- Value protected during the sale. Under a written agreement we can advance patent renewal fees and hosting costs before completion, deducted from the price.
- A plan for afterwards. We buy technology to use it: in our group, with a licensee, an industrial buyer or a follow-on project.
Transaction structures
| Situation | Typical STI role |
|---|---|
| Funding pressure, no procedure | Bridge or rescue investment with milestones; purchase of the business |
| Restructuring | New investment in the plan; purchase of a business unit |
| Sale within a procedure | Offer for the business, asset lots or the IP alone |
| Founders want to continue | Purchase of the IP with a licence back to a founder-led company, where lawful and approved |
| Unused IP, uncertain owner | Identification of the rights holder, then acquisition or licence |
Typical size: EUR 20,000 to EUR 2 million. Larger transactions with partners.
Track record
Situations our group has handled
Names are withheld. Each card states the exact role of STI or its group company. Details are available to insolvency practitioners and counterparties under a confidentiality agreement.
Industrial site in eastern Slovakia
- Situation
- An industrial site acquired from its previous operator.
- Our role
- Bought by Industry & Project Engineering, the group's engineering company, with a bank loan guaranteed by STI.
Idle refinery reactivated
- Situation
- Idle industrial installations, including a refinery.
- Our role
- Industry & Project Engineering, as engineering contractor, carried out the reactivation and re-instrumentation. This was contract work, not an acquisition or investment by STI.
How we work
From first message to completion
Distressed situations run on deadlines set by courts, creditors and cash. Our process follows them.
Timing depends on the procedure, the information available and the complexity of the assets. Do not postpone legal advice, filings or a sale process while waiting for our reply.
- Short description and deadlineWhat the technology is, what is for sale and by when a decision is needed. No confidential documents yet.
- Answer within five working daysWhether we will look further – a quick no is also useful to you.
- Confidentiality agreement and reviewOur engineers and IP specialists review registers, assignments, code, equipment and contracts.
- Written offerPrice, scope, conditions and timetable, in the form the procedure requires.
- Approvals and completionRequired approvals, transfer of assets and register entries, then the restart.
Our boundaries
What we do not do
No legal advice
STI is an investor and buyer, not a law firm or insolvency practitioner. Founders and directors should take their own legal advice.
No third-party money
We invest our own capital. We do not manage funds for others and do not offer investment products.
No automatic purchase
We are selective. If we are not the right buyer, we say so early.
Is there a deadline?
Put it first in your message. We read messages with a deadline first.