VIPsight - April 2013
COMPANIES
Daimler benefits from EADS reform
At an Extraordinary General Meeting in Amsterdam the shareholders blessed the new management and shareholder structure of the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company (EADS), providing for a limitation of state influence in future. The agreement provides that Lagardère and Daimler may sell their shares in the Airbus parent group completely, but without thereby affecting the balance of power between the German and French sides. The German state itself will be a major shareholder. Through the Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau it will like France hold a share of the voting capital capped at 12 per cent. Spain will continue to keep four per cent. Thomas Enders has thus succeeded in revamping the company after the failed merger with BAE Systems. Because of the annulment of the existing shareholder pact, the German carmaker had to evaluate its EADS shares again. The current higher market price ups its earnings before interest and taxes by around 2.7 billion euros. That, however, will not be booked until the second quarter, when the shareholder pact is finally dissolved.
Manz: Solar flop, Smartphone top
The crisis in the solar industry has also got to special machine builders Manz AG. The CDax company last year suffered a decline in sales in the solar field from 73 to 16 million euros. In contrast, sales increased significantly in the areas of Display and Battery from the previous year: machines for production of displays made 111 million euros – an increase of 13 percent – and machinery for the production of lithium batteries for the automotive industry even showed a sales increase by 53%, to 15 million euros.
But Manz does not want to renounce the solar division: the SME expects double-digit sales growth for 2013. The flagging solar industry should also help. After all, the Chinese have assembled one of their solar parks with CIGS solar modules produced in Manz facilities.
PNE Wind: Bond to blow money into the cashbox
Wind-farm developer PNE Wind AG wants in the first half of this year to place a corporate bond in the Prime Standard of the German Stock Exchange. The aim is issue proceeds of €100 million. With this, the CDax-listed wind-energy company wants to fund future organic and external growth.
In the offing is possible 50 percent participation in a company engaged in the development of onshore wind farms in Germany and abroad. Further investments are planned in the area of wind-farm projects and the expansion of onshore and offshore pipelines.
Kontron: dividend despite losses
In spite of substantially negative figures and few rosy prospects, small-computer manufacturer Kontron AG distributed a dividend of four cents per share. Last year the amount of the distribution was still at 20 cents per share. But the decline in orders plus strong pressure on prices and high costs for an optimization programme brought the TecDax company’s operating profit for 2012 down to around minus 33 million euros.
Buhlmann's Corner
Hey, corporate governance is more important than ever - in Germany!
What all happens just before Easter, Ascension and Pentecost in Germany? There's a judge in Frankfurt who ruled in 2012 that a strike was illegal, given the circumstances. Well, that can happen, so you just stop striking, and go to court for damages and costs. This case is decided by the same judge, who a few days ago came to the conclusion that those causing the illegal strike shall not be answerable for the consequences. One can only hope that the judge’s children did not notice the surprising logic and the lack of backbone.
Something similar befell the hapless Deutsche Bank. It had already failed last year for bias in a judge, and this year seems likely to be hauled in front of the same judge. Actually there is in Germany a lawful judge, not a free choice of judge – anyway, when you could still talk of something like the rule of law. This year the Deutsche Bank wanted to help the auditor, who although elected by the owners and appointed by the Supervisory Board now had his pants full: maybe I'm not properly appointed, so can I still work sensibly? The bank did not want to live with that answer, or rather negation of an answer. Now it’s making coffee again for all the shareholders, having called an extraordinary meeting. Before Pentecost – because after Pentecost the stamped annual accounts are to be laid before the shareholders – quite ordinarily. How much backbone do people need, and what is to be done, if there’s no third party to repair the ailing backbone? Because good advice is expensive, and where are the values to come from?
The solution is Corporate Governance – quite simply. If bad behaviour leads to strikes and conflict over appointed auditors, then the rules of best practice help in any situation. You just have to stick to them. And value – as we have seen – is also created: EADS abolishes the special rights and already its market value – and exchange value – rises, although there’s neither a screwdriver more in the workshop nor a single A380 more sold: just like that, a proper set of rules, and things settle themselves.
Perhaps a model for ThyssenKrupp – they’ve just lost the thinker of the German steel industry, Gerhard Cromme, who is often dubbed as the old guardian of Corporate governance. Almost as evidence, he has fixed all the evils of bad practice for himself and ThyssenKrupp as examples in the Code. To be sure, only as a deterrent example (two former executive board members on the Supervisory Board, or a shareholder’s right of appointment making him the sole ruler). But Cromme was not this ruler, and is forced to watch while foster father Berthold Beitz again directs the Thyssen, or rather the KRUPP, numbers. He cannot ask judges, but if he asks me, I see a single value-creating logic that will do, without a waiver of the special rights of the Foundation to bypass the shareholders in appointing the Supervisory Board members at ThyssenKrupp:
Berthold Beitz must bring the Foundation onto the stock market in an Initial Public Offering (IPO), and then we’ll finally get a traceable value for the special right introduced in 2007 at ThyssenKrupp – VIP opposed it then, and in counting the shareholders’ votes the notary stopped at 24.9% No votes.
EADS has proved it: special rights have a mercantile value, and judges are the worst helpers of businessmen.
Aha, so corporate governance is more important than ever – and not only in Germany!
ACTIONS CORNER
The Commerzbank accuses the judge at London’s High Court, which in May 2012 had sentenced the second-largest German bank to pay controversial bonuses of 52 million euros to former investment bankers at Dresdner Bank, of a number of errors. The bank called the judge’s interpretations “surprising and wrong”, Reuters reported, referring to court documents. The London Court of Appeal began a three-day hearing on 5 March. A verdict is expected in early May. In the lower court, the Bank had lost and was therefore to pay extra bonuses to 104 former Dresdner Kleinwort bankers.
The prolonged dispute between the European Commission and Germany over the VW law has gone into its decisive final round. Since 12 March, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) in Luxembourg has been hearing oral arguments about the 53-year-old regulations. The provisions in it that a shareholder may hold at most 20 per cent of Volkswagen, that the federal government and the State of Lower Saxony always have the right to two seats on the board and that major shareholder resolutions require 80 per cent approval clash with European law. The judges are checking whether the Bundestag has implemented an initial judgment on the VW Law in 2007 appropriately or not. On this basis, later in the year first the Advocate-General’s Opinion and then the verdict are expected. Through a fine of at least 50 million euros, the Commission wants to force the Federal Republic to its knees in the long-running dispute about the VW law. According to the Commission the regulation discourages potential investors, stifles innovation and could lead to higher prices.
AGM Dates
| Company | Event | Date | Time | Place | Address | Published on |
| DAX | ||||||
| Daimler AG | ord.AGM | 10/04/2013 | 10:00 | 14055 Berlin | Ecke Masurenallee/Messedamm, in der Messe Berlin, Sondereingang | 27/02/2013 |
| The Agenda for the ordinary AGM of Daimler AG starts with the usual items, like presentation of annual accounts and discharge to the company bodies. Daimler AG earned balance-sheet profits of €2,737.41m last business year. Of the profits, €2,348.67m is to be paid out as dividend and €388,73m allocated to reserves. Elections to the Supervisory Board are to be held. | ||||||
| Deutsche Bank AG | extrao.GM | 11/04/2013 | 10:00 | 65929 Frankfurt am Main | Pfaffenwiese 301, in der Jahrhunderthalle Frankfurt | 05/03/2013 |
| The agenda of the extraordinary GM of Deutsche Bank AG concerns decisions confirming the resolutions of the AGM of 31 May 2012. The decision to pay a dividend of 0.75 euros per share, or a total dividend payment of €688.62 million, and to carry forward €162.78 million from the net profit of €851 4 million is to be confirmed. The appointment of the auditor is to be confirmed. The election of Dr. Paul Achleitner and Peter Löscher, and the election of Prof. Dr. Klaus Rüdiger Truetzschler to the Supervisory Board is also to be confirmed. | ||||||
| Henkel AG & Co. KGaA | ord.AGM | 15/04/2013 | 10:00 | 40474 Düsseldorf | Rotterdamer Straße 141, im Congress Center Düsseldorf, Eingang CCD-Stadthalle | 06/03/2013 |
| The Agenda for the ordinary AGM of Henkel AG & Co. KGaA starts with the usual items, like presentation of annual accounts and discharge to the company bodies. Henkel AG & Co. KGaA earned balance-sheet profits of €593.79m last business year. Of the profits, €410.87m is to be paid out as dividend and €182.92m carried forward to a new account. A by-election to the Shareholders' Committee is to be held. Additionally, several charter amendments are to be decided. | ||||||
| Beiersdorf AG | ord.AGM | 18/04/2013 | 10:30 | 20355 Hamburg | Am Dammtor/Marseiller Straße, im Congress Centrum Hamburg, Saal 1 | 05/03/2013 |
| The Agenda for the ordinary AGM of Beiersdorf AG starts with the usual items, like presentation of annual accounts and discharge to the company bodies. Beiersdorf AG earned balance-sheet profits of €176.4m last business year. Of the profits, €158,77m is to be paid out as dividend and €1.63m allocated to reserves. Approval of the system of executive remuneration is to be decided. | ||||||
| RWE AG | ord.AGM | 18/04/2013 | 10:00 | 45131 Essen | Norbertstraße 2, in der Grugahalle | 05/03/2013 |
| The Agenda for the ordinary AGM of RWE AG starts with the usual items, like presentation of annual accounts and discharge to the company bodies. RWE AG earned balance-sheet profits of €1,229.58m last business year. Of the profits, €1,229.49m is to be paid out as dividend and €0,09m carried forward to a new account. Approval of the system of executive remuneration is to be decided. Elections to the Supervisory Board are to be held. The remuneration of the Supervisory Board is to be re-regulated. Additionally, several charter amendments are to be decided. | ||||||
| Commerzbank AG | ord.AGM | 19/04/2013 | 10:00 | 60327 Frankfurt am Main | Ludwig-Erhard-Anlage 1, Messe Frankfurt, in der Messehalle 1 | 18/03/2013 |
| The Agenda for the ordinary AGM of Commerzbank AG starts with the usual items, like presentation of annual accounts and discharge to the company bodies. Elections to the Supervisory Board are to be held. The share capital of the Company is to be reduced for the time being by €7 to allow a smooth merger ratio for a subsequent capital reduction by grouping of shares. The share capital of the company is then to be reduced from €5829.51 million by consolidating shares in a 10:1 ratio, by €5246.56 million, to €582.95 million. Subsequently, the subscribed capital of the Company will be increased from its then € 582.95 million, against cash contributions and partly against the surrender of part of the silent contribution on a commitment by the Financial Market Stabilization Fund silent company, by up to €2,272.73 million, through the issue of up to 2,272,727,272 new shares, to up to €2855.68 million. The existing Authorized Capital 2012/II, Conditional Capital 2011/III and Conditional Capital 2012/II are to be cancelled. Additionally, several charter amendments are to be decided. | ||||||
| Münchener Rückversicherungs-Gesellschaft AG | ord.AGM | 25/04/2013 | 10:00 | 81829 München | Am Messesee 6, im ICM - Internationales Congress Center München, Messegelände | 14/03/2013 |
| The Agenda for the ordinary AGM of Münchener Rückversicherungs-Gesellschaft AG starts with the usual items, like presentation of annual accounts and discharge to the company bodies. Münchener Rückversicherungs-Gesellschaft AG earned balance-sheet profits of €1,255.39m last business year. Of the profits, €1,254.74m is to be paid out as dividend and €0.65m carried forward to a new account. Approval of the system of executive remuneration is to be decided. Elections to the Supervisory Board are to be held. The remuneration of the Supervisory Board is to be re-regulated. The existing Authorized Capital 2009 is to be cancelled. A new authorized capital, with the possibility of excluding subscription rights, in the amount of €280 million (Authorized Capital 2013), is to be created. Additionally, several charter amendments are to be decided. | ||||||
| VOLKSWAGEN AG | ord.AGM | 25/04/2013 | 10:00 | 30521 Hannover | auf dem Messegelände der Deutsche Messe AG, Eingang Nord 2, Hallen 2 und 3 | 14/03/2013 |
| The Agenda for the ordinary AGM of VOLKSWAGEN AG starts with the usual items, like presentation of annual accounts and discharge to the company bodies. VOLKSWAGEN AG earned balance-sheet profits of €3,199.81m last business year. Of the profits, €1,638.52m is to be paid out as dividend, €1,555m allocated to reserves and €6.29m carried forward to a new account. Elections to the Supervisory Board are to be held. In addition the conclusion of the control and profit-transfer agreements between VOLKSWAGEN AG and Porsche Holding Stuttgart GmbH, Porsche Erste Vermögensverwaltung GmbH and Porsche Siebte Vermögensverwaltung GmbH in favour of VOLKSWAGEN AG is to be agreed. | ||||||
| BASF SE | ord.AGM | 26/04/2013 | 10:00 | 68161 Mannheim | Rosengartenplatz 2, im Congress Center Rosengarten | 15/03/2013 |
| The Agenda for the ordinary AGM of BASF SE starts with the usual items, like presentation of annual accounts and discharge to the company bodies.BASF SE earned balance-sheet profits of €2,880.01m last business year. Of the profits, €2.388,044m is to be paid out as dividend and €491.97m allocated to reserves. | ||||||
| Bayer AG | ord.AGM | 26/04/2013 | 10:00 | 50679 Köln | Deutz-Mühlheimer-Straße 111, Congress-Centrum Koelnmesse, Eingang Nord, Halle 7 | 28/02/2013 |
| The Agenda for the ordinary AGM of Bayer AG starts with the usual items, like presentation of annual accounts and discharge to the company bodies. Bayer AG earned balance-sheet profits of €1,571.2m last business year. The profits are to be fully paid out as dividend. Additionally, the control and profit-transfer agreement between Bayer AG and Bayer Beteiligungsverwaltung Goslar GmbH in favour of Bayer AG is to be agreed . | ||||||
| MERCK KGaA | ord.AGM | 26/04/2013 | 10:00 | 65929 Frankfurt am Main | Pfaffenwiese 301, Jahrhunderthalle Frankfurt | 14/03/2013 |
| The Agenda for the ordinary AGM of MERCK KGaA starts with the usual items, like presentation of annual accounts and discharge to the company bodies. MERCK KGaA earned balance-sheet profits of €109.86m last business year. The profits are to be fully paid out as dividend. The conclusion of seven agreements to modify existing control and profit-transfer agreements or profit-and-loss transfer agreements is to be agreed. Elections to the Supervisory Board are to be held. The remuneration of the Supervisory Board is to be re-regulated. The existing Authorized Capital is to be cancelled. A new Authorized Capital, with the possibility of excluding subscription rights, in the amount of €56.52 million (Authorized Capital 2013), is to be created. Additionally, several charter amendments are to be decided. | ||||||
| MDAX | ||||||
| Bilfinger SE | ord.AGM | 18/04/2013 | 10:00 | 68161 Mannheim | Rosengartenplatz 2, im Congress Center Rosengarten, Musensaal | 11/03/2013 |
| The Agenda for the ordinary AGM of Bilfinger SE starts with the usual items, like presentation of annual accounts and discharge to the company bodies. Bilfinger SE AG earned balance-sheet profits of €195.71m last business year. Of the profits, €132.42m is to be paid out as dividend and €63.29m carried forward to a new account. Elections to the Supervisory Board are to be held. In addition, the Company is to be authorized to issue option and convertible bonds, excluding subscription rights. For this, conditional capital in the amount of €13.81 million (Conditional Capital 2013) is to be kept available. The existing authorization to issue option and convertible bonds is to be cancelled, as is Conditional Capital 2010. The Company is to be authorized to purchase its own shares and use them, with possible exclusion of shareholders' subscription and tender rights . Additionally, profit-transfer agreements between Bilfinger SE and Bilfinger Industrial Technologies GmbH and with Roediger Grundbesitz GmbH in favour of Bilfinger SE are to be agreed. Approval of the system of executive remuneration is to be decided. | ||||||
| GEA Group Aktiengesellschaft | ord.AGM | 18/04/2013 | 10:00 | 46045 Oberhausen | Düppelstraße 1, im Kongresszentrum Luise-Albertz-Halle | 11/03/2013 |
| The Agenda for the ordinary AGM of GEA Group Aktiengesellschaft starts with the usual items, like presentation of annual accounts and discharge to the company bodies. GEA Group Aktiengesellschaft earned balance-sheet profits of €109,05m last business year. Of the profits, €105.87m is to be paid out as dividend and €3.18m carried forward to a new account. | ||||||
| Gerresheimer AG | ord.AGM | 18/04/2013 | 10:00 | 40474 Düsseldorf | Stockumer Kirchstraße 61, im Congress Center Düsseldorf (CCD Ost), Raum L, M, R | 08/03/2013 |
| The Agenda for the ordinary AGM of Gerresheimer AG starts with the usual items, like presentation of annual accounts and discharge to the company bodies. Gerresheimer AG earned balance-sheet profits of €70.41m last business year. Of the profits, €20.41m is to be paid out as dividend and €50m carried forward to a new account. | ||||||
| Sky Deutschland AG | ord.AGM | 18/04/2013 | 10:00 | 80339 München | Theresienhöhe 15, in der Alten Kongresshalle | 08/03/2013 |
| The Agenda for the ordinary AGM of Sky Deutschland AG starts with the usual items, like presentation of annual accounts and discharge to the company bodies. Elections to the Supervisory Board are to be held. The remaining Authorized Capital 2012 is to be supplemented by a new additional Authorized Capital totalling €147.44 million (Authorized Capital 2013), for cash capital increases, with authorization to exclude subscription rights,The remuneration of the Supervisory Board is to be re-regulated. Additionally, several charter amendments are to be decided. | ||||||
| Axel Springer AG | ord.AGM | 24/04/2013 | 10:00 | 10888 Berlin | Axel-Springer-Straße 65, im Axel Springer Haus | 13/03/2013 |
| The Agenda for the ordinary AGM of Axel Springer AG starts with the usual items, like presentation of annual accounts and discharge to the company bodies. . Discharge to the Supervisory Board is to be voted in two groups, one for discharge to the Supervisory Board except Dr. hc Friede Springer, and the other on discharge to Dr. hc Friede Springer. A by-election of Mr Rudolf Knepper is to be held. The remuneration of the Supervisory Board is to be re-regulated. Amendments to the control and profit-transfer agreements between Axel Springer AG and several subsidiaries are to be agreed. In addition, Axel Springer AG is to be converted into a European Company (Societas Europaea, SE). | ||||||
| Dürr AG | ord.AGM | 26/04/2013 | 11:00 | 74321 Bietigheim-Bissingen | Carl-Benz-Straße 34, im Foyer des Verwaltungsgebäudes der Dürr Aktiengesellschaft | 18/03/2013 |
| The Agenda for the ordinary AGM of Dürr AG starts with the usual items, like presentation of annual accounts and discharge to the company bodies. Dürr AG earned balance-sheet profits of €113.01m last business year. Of the profits, €38,93m is to be paid out as dividend and €74,08m carried forward to a new account. Elections to the Supervisory Board are to be held. In addition, the Company shall be authorized to issue option and convertible bonds, participation rights and income bonds or combinations of these instruments. For this, conditional capital in the amount of €22.15 million (Conditional Capital 2013) is to be kept available. The existing authorization to issue option and convertible bonds, participation rights and income bonds or combinations of these instruments and the existing Conditional Capital 2010 are to be cancelled. The share capital of the Company is to be increased from the current €44.29 million by €44.29 million from company funds, by issuing 17,300,520 new shares, to €88.58 million. The Company is to be authorized to purchase its own shares and use them. The existing Authorized Capital is to be replaced by a new one of €44.29 million. Furthermore, the control agreement between Dürr AG and Carl Schenck Aktiengesellschaft in favour of Dürr AG is to be agreed Additionally, several charter amendments are to be decided. | ||||||
| LEONI AG | ord.AGM | 30/04/2013 | 10:00 | 90471 Nürnberg | in der Frankenhalle derNürnbergMesse GmbH, Messezentrum | 20/03/2013 |
| The Agenda for the ordinary AGM of LEONI AG starts with the usual items, like presentation of annual accounts and discharge to the company bodies. LEONI AG earned balance-sheet profits of €50.05m last business year. Of the profits, €49m is to be paid out as dividend and €1,05m carried forward to a new account. The remuneration of the Supervisory Board is to be re-regulated. Additionally, several charter amendments are to be decided. | ||||||
| SGL Carbon SE | ord.AGM | 30/04/2013 | 10:00 | 65189 Wiesbaden | kurhausplatz 1, im Kurhaus Wiesbaden | 21/03/2013 |
| The Agenda for the ordinary AGM of SGL Carbon SE starts with the usual items, like presentation of annual accounts and discharge to the company bodies. SGL Carbon SE earned balance-sheet profits of €25.77m last business year. Of the profits, €14.19m is to be paid out as dividend and €11,58m carried forward to a new account. Elections to the Supervisory Board are to be held. The remuneration of the Supervisory Board is to be re-regulated. Additionally, several charter amendments are to be decided. | ||||||
| TecDAX | ||||||
| Sartorius AG | ord.AGM | 18/04/2013 | 10:00 | 37081 Göttingen | Bahnhofsalle 1, in der Lokhalle Göttingen | 07/03/2013 |
| The Agenda for the ordinary AGM of Sartorius AG starts with the usual items, like presentation of annual accounts and discharge to the company bodies. Sartorius AG earned balance-sheet profits of €158.99m last business year. Of the profits, €16,19m is to be paid out as dividend and €142,8m carried forward to a new account. The remuneration of the Supervisory Board is to be re-regulated. Additionally, a profit-and-loss transfer agreement between Sartorius AG and Sartorius Lab Holding GmbH in favour of Sartorius AG is to be concluded. | ||||||
Politics
Amendment to EU Capital Directive CRD IV completed.
One of the largest and most controversial dossiers of financial regulation is signed and sealed. COREPER (the Committee of Permanent Representatives of the Member States) on March 27, more than two years after publication of the final Basel III rules by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision in December 2010 and after some emotional discussions within the European institutions, approved and published a tentative agreement on the consolidated CRD IV / CRR. The package contains uniform rules on capital and liquidity within the EU. Purely formally, the plenary of the European Parliament and the national finance ministers in the Council must still vote. This final decision is planned for the European Parliament’s plenary session from 15 to 18 April. If the current version can be published in the Official Journal of the European Union by 30 June, the new Directive and Regulation will apply from 1 January 2014. The amended EU Directive provides that banks will have to hold more and better capital. To strengthen the liquidity position, the CRD IV / CRR also provides for the introduction of the Liquidity Coverage Ratio.
People
Marija Korsch is – on condition of being appointed at the general meeting (AGM) in May – to become the new Supervisory Board chairman of Aareal Bank. Hans W. Reich will then resign from the body early. The longtime head of KfW, who was elected as a Supervisory Board member until the 2015 General Meeting, has been a member since July 2002 and its Chairman since June 2004.
At Bayerische Motoren Werke Frank-Peter Arndt resigned from office for health reasons on 1 April. Harald Krüger is Arndt's successor in the production department. Krüger’s existing tasks will in future be handled by Peter Schwarzenbauer, who most recently worked on the Board of AUDI. As part of a restructuring in the top management of Volkswagen he lost this post in 2012.
Professor Klaus Rüdiger Trützschler, a member of the supervisory body of Bilfinger since 2001, and Thomas Pleines, member since 1998, are leaving their posts on 30 June and 18 April respectively. Proposed as new candidates for election at the forthcoming annual general meeting were Herbert Bodner and Jens Tischendorf. After the two-year cooling-off period, the former CEO Bodner could be a member from 1 July 2013. It is expected that after another “cooling off period” the 65-year-old will take over from supervisory board chairman Bernhard Walter at the head of the supervisory body. Tischendorf is CEO of Cevian Capital in Pfäffikon, Switzerland. The company owns approximately 17.7 per cent of the voting rights at the engineering and services company and is Bilfinger’s largest shareholder.
Peter Feld is leaving Beiersdorf in friendly agreement at his own request on 31 July, the company announced on 26 March. Several weeks ago it leaked out that Stefan Heidenreich was unhappy with the performance of the two regions overseen by Feld. The CEO is taking over Feld’s duties until a successor is found.
As shareholder representatives, the Supervisory Board will propose to shareholders at the early Commerzbank meeting on 19 April the chief executive of the Federation of German Industries (BDI), Markus Kerber, the co-owner of the Krombacher brewery, Petra Schadeberg-Herrmann, and the former Germany boss of the consulting company Accenture, Karl-Heinz Flöther, for election to the Supervisory Board, the bank announced on 18 March in the invitation. The three replace Edgar Meister, Otto Happel and Burckhard Bergmann. The proposal for the election of Kerber, who would succeed 72-year-old Meister, retiring for reasons of age, goes back to the suggestion of the Special Fund for Financial Market Stabilization (SoFFin), which has since the financial crisis held a blocking stake of 25 per cent in the bank and may nominate two candidates for the Supervisory Board. SoFFin will dilute its stake by mid-May in a capital increase, probably to less than 20 percent. It is however still due two seats as long as it holds more than ten per cent in Commerzbank. The bank had to be supported in the crisis with government aid worth around 18 billion euros.
As shareholder representatives, the Supervisory Board will propose to shareholders at the early Commerzbank meeting on 19 April the chief executive of the Federation of German Industries (BDI), Markus Kerber, the co-owner of the Krombacher brewery, Petra Schadeberg-Herrmann, and the former Germany boss of the consulting company Accenture, Karl-Heinz Flöther, for election to the Supervisory Board, the bank announced on 18 March in the invitation. The three replace Edgar Meister, Otto Happel and Burckhard Bergmann. The proposal for the election of Kerber, who would succeed 72-year-old Meister, retiring for reasons of age, goes back to the suggestion of the Special Fund for Financial Market Stabilization (SoFFin), which has since the financial crisis held a blocking stake of 25 per cent in the bank and may nominate two candidates for the Supervisory Board. SoFFin will dilute its stake by mid-May in a capital increase, probably to less than 20 percent. It is however still due two seats as long as it holds more than ten per cent in Commerzbank. The bank had to be supported in the crisis with government aid worth around 18 billion euros.
For Frank Bsirske, Christine Behle will join the Supervisory Board of Deutsche Lufthansa. At a delegate election on 9 March in Frankfurt, trade-union Verdi's federal executive member was elected to the Supervisory Board in place of union boss Bsirske, Verdi announced. The service union has only four out of ten representatives on the employee side of the airline.
Bernhard Reutersberg is to be replaced at E.ON in late 2014 by Klaus Schäfer. In 2015, the now 59-year-old will be 61; also, by then the austerity programme “E.ON 2.0”, for which Reutersberg is responsible, should have been implemented. Schäfer had taken over the lead in Ruhrgas from Reutersberg in 2010. As part of the transformation into an SE, all Board contracts except for the Chief Financial Officer’s were limited to 2013.
After five months of absence due to illness Werner Lanthaler has resumed his position as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Evotec with immediate effect, the Nasdaq-listed company announced on 18 March. They would “continue to focus on promoting the company’s growth in line with the Action Plan 2016,” said Evotec. Lanthaler has been CEO since 2009.
GAGFAH is surprisingly facing a change of leadership: Thomas Zinnöcker is as soon as possible to replace Stephen Charlton, who had taken over as chief executive only about a year ago, but is ready to make his post available once a “succession arrangement beneficial for the Company” has been found. Currently, intensive discussions are under way with the aim of bringing the current CEO of GSW, Berlin, to GAGFAH.
GSW Immobilien had announced that Thomas Zinnöcker wanted to leave the company early, by 15 April, and had asked for termination of his contract. The manager wanted to pursue new professional challenges. The Supervisory Board on 18 March approved a consensual contract termination and appointed Bernd Kottmann as his successor. The new CEO takes over on 16 April.
Soon, for the first time in the history of K + S two women could be sitting on the Supervisory Board. As the North Hessian salt and fertilizer producer announced on 13 March, the Supervisory Board will propose Annette Messemer for election at the General Meeting on 14 May. The experienced investment banker should complement the body as an independent financial expert. Wesley Clark should also move onto the new 16-member board. The former CEO of K + S subsidiary Morton Salt is a salt expert. They are intended to replace Rainer Grohe and Karl Heidenreich, no longer eligible on grounds of age. The decision follows the aims of ensuring that the Supervisory Board continues to have two female members and taking account of the increasingly international nature of K + S, the company said.
Peter Bauer has joined the Supervisory Board of Kontron. He has been a member of the Infineon Management Board since the Infineon Technologies IPO in 1999, and in 2008 became chairman of the company. Bauer was also previously responsible for the Infineon microcontroller and microcomputer chip sets sectors. The beleaguered small-computer specialist gave a surprise profit warning in mid-February.
Wolfgang Reitzle is to quit after eleven years in the board chair at Linde, as his contract provides. The 63-year-old ruled out an immediate move to the Supervisory Board. Manfred Schneider has now identified a successor for May 2014. Franz Fehrenbach will stand for election to the Board, and is to replace Matthew Miau from Taiwan. Fehrenbach has been Supervisory Board chairman at Robert Bosch since July 2012.
By mutual agreement, Frans Muller retired from the METRO Board at the end of March following the merger of the two leadership positions, the trading group announced on 18 March. Olaf Koch takes over the operational management of METRO wholesale trade with businesses (Cash & Carry), making it, the most important subsidiary, a top priority. METRO recorded a significant drop in profits in 2012.
As Munich Re announced, the Supervisory Board has decided not to extend Wolfgang Strassl’s contract, expiring at the end of the year. The world's largest reinsurer did not give reasons. From October, CEO Bomhard will take care of the U.S. business and Joachim Wenning will share responsibility for personnel tasks.
Barbara Stolz is to become CFO at QSC on 1 June. In the 44-year-old, the IT and telecommunications service provider from Cologne has the successor for Jürgen Hermann, who on 30 May moves up to become CEO of the TecDax company, an internal arrangement. Stolz has been with QSC since 2005. Since September 2009 she has led the entire finance department, and following the acquisition of IP Partners was already CFO at the subsidiary.
As successor to Max Dietrich Kley’s vacant seat as Supervisory Board member representing the shareholders, Christine Bortenlänger will be proposed at the Annual General Meeting on 30 April, SGL Carbon announced. Together with the upcoming changes in the Supervisory Board the MDAX company also announced a change in the Board. Thus, at its meeting on 13 March the Supervisory Board appointed Jürgen Köhler as a full member of the Board with effect from 1 June. The PhD process engineer has been at the company since 2002 and was previously responsible for, among other things, the graphite electrodes and cathodes business. Köhler is from 1 June to take over responsibility for the Group’s big hope, the business area of Carbon Fibres & Composites, from Theodore H. Breyer, retiring from the board on 31 October after 14 years.
As the invitation to the Annual General Meeting of Sky Deutschland on 18 April in Munich shows, James Murdoch is to replace Thomas Mockridge on the supervisory body. Since the media conglomerate controlled by Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. holds a nearly 55 per cent stake in the pay-TV channel, the election is considered a formality. Sky Deutschland wants to benefit from the controversial media expert’s know-how in the field of new technologies and international markets.
After more than 27 years Gerhard Cromme has relinquished his offices at ThyssenKrupp. The Supervisory Board chairman surprisingly left the Chair in late March and exited the body. Professor Ulrich Lehner is to become the Essen-based industrial group’s new Supervisory Board chairman. The 66-year-old was to be elected at a special meeting of the Supervisory Board on 19 March, stated ThyssenKrupp in Essen.
As expected, Ulrich Lehner was elected on 19 March as new Supervisory Board Chairman of ThyssenKrupp, and thus successor to Gerhard Cromme. The former Henkel CEO has been a member of the industrial group’s Supervisory Board since 2008. He will take up his new post on 1 April. A week earlier Cromme surprisingly announced his full withdrawal from the company.
Neil Sunderland has announced he will resign his mandate at XING at the end of this year’s Annual General Meeting on 24 May. The longtime chairman wants to pursue new projects. The Supervisory Board will shortly propose to shareholders a successor for election to the body. It is clear that Burda Digital, significantly involved in the career network at 60.5 per cent, will determine the successor.
Xing: Chairman Sunderland goes
The long-serving Supervisory Board chief of Xing AG, Neil Sunderland, is leaving the TecDax company, in which the Burda Media Group holds 60 per cent, on 24 May. According to the Börsen-Zeitung, he left the business-network provider at his own request in order to pursue new projects. The Supervisory Board will meet shortly to clarify Sunderland’s succession. As the majority shareholder, Burda will determine the successor to be proposed to the Annual General Meeting for election.
Sunderland had been an advisory-board member of Xing before the IPO in 2006. As Chairman, he managed the affairs of the company, at the time under the name Open BC. During his tenure, the company’s revenues increased sevenfold, and the number of members of the social network went from less than one million to around 13 million.
In German-speaking countries alone, more than 6 million people use the online platform for their business contacts. Xing is the number one business network and the biggest competitor of U.S. counterpart LinkedIn there. With the purchase of the German employer-review portal kununu.com at the beginning of the year, the company has strengthened its position in the market.
QSC: major moves in the boardroom
At TecDax-listed QSC AG there will be two personnel changes in June. Barbara Stolz will be the new CFO, following in the footsteps of Jürgen Hermann. The current CFO will chair the board of the Cologne-based company. Stolz joined QSC AG as head of the accounting department in 2005, after having worked at, among others, IVG Immobilien AG and Metro AG. Jürrgen Hermann has worked for QSC since the company’s founding in 1997. As CFO he helped to create the ICT and cloud-service provider’s initial public offering in 1999.
Kontron: New faces on the Board and Supervisory Board
Peter Bauer is a new Supervisory Board member of Kontron AG, one of the world’s largest manufacturers of embedded computers. The TecDax company relies on the manager’s extensive experience. From 2008 to 2012 he served as CEO of Infineon Technologies AG. He reorganized the company from scratch, and improved its market position considerably.
There was another change recently, of CEO. The new CEO since January this year is Rolf Schwirz. He has previously worked for multinational companies such as SAP and Siemens, and was most recently CEO at Fujitsu Technology Solutions. He replaced Ulrich Gehrmann, who worked for Kontron for 22 years and is now moving to DIY group Praktiker AG as Chief Financial Officer.
Campus
Four DAX companies among the top 50 value destroyers in 2012
Shareholder association Deutsche Schutzvereinigung für Wertpapierbesitz (DSW) puts four DAX companies on the losers list last year in its recent survey, twice as many as in the previous cycle. Since it was not easy for large banks in recent years, number 20 for Commerzbank is not a big surprise. The same applies to E.ON (35th place) and RWE (40th), for which the nuclear phase-out and renewable-energy boom devastated the balance sheets. According to WatchList the energy company lost 71 per cent of market value in the last five years, while the price of RWE declined by 67 per cent. The price of METRO also went into a tailspin. These four corporations destroyed the largest values in absolute terms, while the battered solar sector burned the most of its shareholders’ capital percentagewise. With almost 92 per cent loss in the past year, the insolvent Centrotherm heads the inglorious list of “biggest capital destroyers” in Germany. The second place goes to the former flagship of the photovoltaic industry, SolarWorld, which in 2012 cost its shareholders a good 68 per cent. Third-biggest value destroyer was the Bavarian industry representative Phoenix Solar, which in the past three years forfeited 97.5 per cent of its market value, and in the past year at least 57.5 percent.
Capital News
The Commerzbank is planning a 2.5 billion-euro capital increase, to repay the silent contributions from the Special Fund for Financial Market Stabilization (SoFFin) of about €1.6 billion and over €750 million from Allianz early. The capital increase will be decided by the general meeting of the bank, currently valued at 7.4 billion euros: it has been brought forward to 19 April 2013. SoFFin is placing a portion of its stake on the stock exchange without subscription rights through a bank syndicate, lowering the government share to 15 percent. Thereafter, these options will be exercised by converting the silent contributions. After the transaction, the SoFFin share is expected to fall from the current 25 per cent to below 20 per cent. In addition, a capital reduction by conversion of shares at a ten to one ratio is planned, it was announced on 13 March. Visually, the quote, diluted by various capital increases, will go up tenfold.
Mori Seiki wants to increase its participation in GILDEMEISTER from the current 20 per cent to 24.33 per cent of the share capital, or 24.9 per cent of the voting shares. In return, the tool manufacturer receives the right to increase its equity stake in the Japanese company to 10.1 per cent. Mori Seiki will thus in a first stage gather in investments in companies in the major markets of the U.S. and Japan, obtaining a total of up to about 5.4 per cent of the existing share capital from a capital increase against contributions in kind. In a second step, the cash capital increase with subscription rights for all shareholders will follow.
Financing structure in need of optimization
The German Mittelstand (Germany’s SMEs) has enjoyed global success and is an important part of the German economy. A study has now found, however, that the companies are in need of catching up in relation to financial planning: many SMEs do not engage in professional financial management. The equity ratio of Mittelstand companies has steadily increased since 2005, except for 2011. After internal financing, debt financing, especially from banks, is very strong, at 48 per cent of the companies surveyed. Meanwhile, financing alternatives such as mezzanine, equity, minority shareholders or the capital market are hardly used. For about 60 per cent, the bank is the most important financial partner. Often, however, integrated and streamlined financial planning and a review of the current financing mix would be beneficial. Only about one in five German SMEs get an external rating through agencies or banks. More than 80 per cent do not see a rating as an influencing factor in company finance. The bulk of funds goes into growth financing and refinancing.
ETF for SME loans launched
In March, the fund company BayernInvest for the first time set up an investment fund that focuses exclusively on German exchange-listed Mittelstand bonds and trades as an active ETF on the Stuttgart Stock Exchange. According to the provider, the fund is aimed at experienced investors who want to profit through a broadly diversified portfolio of attractive yields on German SME loans. In selecting securities the fund managers follow, besides the listing in specific trading segments, other established criteria including minimum size of issue, a minimum external rating and limitations on investments in each individual sector. All securities in the portfolio are denominated in euros.
Director's Dealings
| Company | Person | Function | Buy / Sell | Total value in Euro | Number of shares | Date |
| adidas AG | Tourres, Christian | AR | V | 5.473.699 | 71087 | 11.03.2013 |
| adidas AG | Tourres, Christian | AR | V | 2.226.301 | 28913 | 08.03.2013 |
| Aurubis AG | Schwertz, Rolf | AR | K | 14.874 | 300 | 28.03.2013 |
| Axel Springer AG | Bayer, Jan | VR | K | 83.493 | 2500 | 11.03.2013 |
| BB Biotech AG | Hunziker, Erich | AR-Chef | K | 439.918 | 5000 | 13.03.2013 |
| BB Biotech AG | Koller, Daniel | VR-Chef | K | 17.187 | 200 | 25.03.2013 |
| Brenntag AG | Ludwig, Dr. Thomas | AR | K | 45.283 | 385 | 22.03.2013 |
| Brenntag AG | Nowotne, Doreen | AR | K | 23.500 | 200 | 22.03.2013 |
| Brenntag AG | Nowotne, Doreen | AR | K | 29.988 | 250 | 22.03.2013 |
| Brenntag AG | Rittstieg, Dr. Andreas | AR | K | 45.030 | 374 | 22.03.2013 |
| Brenntag AG | Zuschke, Stefan | AR-Chef | K | 45.448 | 380 | 25.03.2013 |
| Bayer AG | Achleitner, Dr. Paul | AR | K | 30.448 | 400 | 05.03.2013 |
| Bayer AG | Börsig, Dr. Clemens | AR | K | 20.324 | 267 | 05.03.2013 |
| Bayer AG | Ebeling, Thomas | AR | K | 20.324 | 267 | 05.03.2013 |
| Bayer AG | Fischer, Dr.-Ing. Thomas | AR | K | 30.448 | 400 | 05.03.2013 |
| Bayer AG | Kleinfeld, Dr. Klaus | AR | K | 20.324 | 267 | 05.03.2013 |
| Bayer AG | Panke, Dr. Helmut | AR | K | 20.324 | 267 | 05.03.2013 |
| Bayer AG | Rataj, Sue H. | AR | K | 21.390 | 273 | 05.03.2013 |
| Bayer AG | Schmidt-Kiessling, Michael | AR | K | 20.324 | 267 | 06.03.2013 |
| Bayer AG | Schulz, Dr.-Ing. Ekkehard D. | AR | K | 37.850 | 500 | 05.03.2013 |
| Bayer AG | Sturany, Dr. Klaus | AR | K | 40.648 | 534 | 05.03.2013 |
| Bayer AG | Wenning, Werner | AR-Chef | K | 22.608 | 297 | 05.03.2013 |
| Bayer AG | Winnacker, Prof.Dr. Ernst-Ludwig | AR | K | 20.324 | 267 | 05.03.2013 |
| COMMERZBANK AG | Blessing, Martin | VR-Chef | K | 117.450 | 100000 | 26.03.2013 |
| COMMERZBANK AG | Blessing, Martin | VR-Chef | K | 120.900 | 100000 | 14.03.2013 |
| COMMERZBANK AG | Engels, Stephan | VR | K | 25.900 | 20000 | 13.03.2013 |
| COMMERZBANK AG | Hampel, Daniel | AR | K | 2.378 | 2000 | 18.03.2013 |
| COMMERZBANK AG | Klösges, Jochen | VR | K | 53.970 | 44310 | 19.03.2013 |
| Deutsche Wohnen AG | Clement, Wolfgang | AR | K | 13.783 | 1000 | 09.08.2012 |
| Deutsche Wohnen AG | Flach, Uwe E. | AR-Chef | V | 37.500 | 2500 | 15.03.2013 |
| Dürr AG | Dieter, Ralf | VR-Chef | V | 1.267.650 | 15000 | 13.03.2013 |
| Dürr AG | Raich, Hayo | AR | V | 6.138 | 72 | 01.03.2013 |
| ElringKlinger AG | Becker, Theo | VR | K | 45.736 | 2000 | 04.04.2013 |
| Gerry Weber International AG | R + U Weber GmbH & Co. KG | K | 163.650 | 5000 | 04.04.2013 | |
| Gerry Weber International AG | Strätker, Doris | VR | K | 69.546 | 2000 | 01.03.2013 |
| GSW Immobilien AG | Schwagenscheidt, Jörg | VR | V | 322.350 | 10586 | 26.03.2013 |
| GSW Immobilien AG | Segal, Andreas | VR | V | 103.700 | 3400 | 26.03.2013 |
| HeidelbergCement AG | von Achten, Marina | V | 292.292 | 5200 | 14.03.2013 | |
| Henkel AG & Co. KGaA | Helten-Kindlein, Birgit | AR | V | 45.709 | 619 | 25.03.2013 |
| Henkel AG & Co. KGaA | Henkel, Christoph | A1 | 100000 | 07.03.2013 | ||
| Henkel AG & Co. KGaA | Henkel, Christoph | A1 | 100000 | 07.03.2013 | ||
| Henkel AG & Co. KGaA | Henkel, Christoph | A1 | 100000 | 07.03.2013 | ||
| Henkel AG & Co. KGaA | Henkel, Christoph | A1 | 100000 | 07.03.2013 | ||
| K+S AG | Heidenreich, Dr. Karl | AR | K | 35.320 | 1000 | 11.03.2013 |
| K+S AG | Heidenreich, Heide | K | 35.325 | 1000 | 11.03.2013 | |
| Klöckner & Co SE | Partalis, William Anthony | VR | K | 67.128 | 6180 | 02.04.2013 |
| Klöckner & Co SE | Partalis, William Anthony | VR | K | 67.128 | 6180 | 02.04.2013 |
| LEONI AG | Wirtz, Helmut | AR | V | 61.709 | 2000 | 20.03.2013 |
| LPKF Laser & Electronics AG | Bretthauer, Dr. Ingo | VR-Chef | V | 80.820 | 4166 | 02.04.2013 |
| LPKF Laser & Electronics AG | Bretthauer, Dr. Ingo | VR-Chef | V | 34.457 | 1767 | 05.04.2013 |
| LPKF Laser & Electronics AG | Bretthauer, Dr. Ingo | VR-Chef | V | 547 | 28 | 05.04.2013 |
| LPKF Laser & Electronics AG | Bretthauer, Dr. Ingo | VR-Chef | V | 4.016 | 205 | 05.04.2013 |
| LPKF Laser & Electronics AG | Bretthauer, Dr. Ingo | VR-Chef | V | 16.196 | 834 | 02.04.2013 |
| METRO AG | Koch, Olaf | VR-Chef | K | 222.870 | 10000 | 21.03.2013 |
| QIAGEN N.V. | Colpan, Dennis | V | 128.685 | 8000 | 06.03.2013 | |
| QIAGEN N.V. | Colpan, Metin | AR | V | 1.017.702 | 62801 | 11.03.2013 |
| QIAGEN N.V. | Colpan, Metin | AR | V | 1.939.766 | 121727 | 13.03.2013 |
| QIAGEN N.V. | Colpan, Metin | AR | V | 1.057.119 | 65472 | 12.03.2013 |
| QIAGEN N.V. | Riesner, Detlev | AR-Chef | V | 705.380 | 44265 | 13.03.2013 |
| QIAGEN N.V. | Riesner, Detlev | AR-Chef | V | 266.223 | 16458 | 06.03.2013 |
| QIAGEN N.V. | Riesner, Detlev | AR-Chef | V | 893.935 | 55665 | 08.03.2013 |
| QIAGEN N.V. | Riesner, Detlev | AR-Chef | V | 438.480 | 27058 | 11.03.2013 |
| QIAGEN N.V. | Riesner, Detlev | AR-Chef | V | 384.407 | 23808 | 12.03.2013 |
| QIAGEN N.V. | Riesner, Detlev | AR-Chef | V | 529.087 | 32746 | 07.03.2013 |
| QIAGEN N.V. | Schatz, Peer | VR-Chef | A1 | 0 | 22995 | 01.04.2013 |
| QIAGEN N.V. | Schatz, Peer | VR-Chef | V | 992.903 | 61825 | 04.03.2013 |
| QIAGEN N.V. | Schatz, Peer | VR-Chef | A1 | 0 | 129339 | 01.03.2013 |
| QIAGEN N.V. | Schatz, Peer | VR-Chef | V | 175.278 | 10635 | 02.04.2013 |
| RATIONAL AG | Baumgärtner, Erich | VR | V | 233.000 | 1000 | 21.03.2013 |
| RATIONAL AG | Blaschke, Dr. Günter | VR-Chef | V | 116.645 | 500 | 21.03.2013 |
| RATIONAL AG | Wiedemann, Peter | VR | V | 499.609 | 2000 | 20.03.2013 |
| RATIONAL AG | Wiedemann, Peter | VR | K | 490.980 | 2100 | 21.03.2013 |
| RWE AG | Terium, Peter | VR-Chef | K | 180.578 | 6249 | 20.03.2013 |
| SGL CARBON SE | Breyer, Theodore H. | VR | K | 287.736 | 9333 | 28.03.2013 |
| SGL CARBON SE | Breyer, Theodore H. | VR | V | 672.534 | 21497 | 21.03.2013 |
| SGL CARBON SE | Bruch, Armin Horst | VR | K | 255.026 | 8272 | 28.03.2013 |
| SGL CARBON SE | Bruch, Armin Horst | VR | V | 405.280 | 12856 | 15.03.2013 |
| SGL CARBON SE | Koehler, Robert J. | VR-Chef | K | 388.335 | 12596 | 28.03.2013 |
| SGL CARBON SE | Koehler, Robert J. | VR-Chef | V | 489.223 | 15936 | 22.03.2013 |
| SGL CARBON SE | Koehler, Robert J. | VR-Chef | V | 505.202 | 16500 | 25.03.2013 |
| SGL CARBON SE | Muth, Jürgen Otto Walter | VR | K | 170.027 | 5515 | 28.03.2013 |
| SGL CARBON SE | Wingefeld, Gerd | VR | K | 255.026 | 8272 | 28.03.2013 |
| Siemens AG | Requardt, Prof. Dr. Hermann | VR | V | 496.557 | 6246 | 04.03.2013 |
| Siemens AG | Requardt, Prof. Dr. Hermann | VR | V | 165.500 | 2000 | 12.03.2013 |
| Sky Deutschland AG | Enßlin, Dr. Holger | VR | V | 70.950 | 15000 | 05.03.2013 |
| STADA Arzneimittel AG | Retzlaff, Hartmut | VR-Chef | K | 51.075 | 1574 | 02.04.2013 |
| STADA Arzneimittel AG | Retzlaff, Hartmut | VR-Chef | V | 897.501 | 3000 | 02.04.2013 |
| Südzucker AG Mannheim/Ochsenfurt | Fenner, Dr. Jochen | AR | V | 6.558 | 200 | 20.03.2013 |
| Süss MicroTec AG | Knopp, Michael | VR | K | 50.250 | 5600 | 02.04.2013 |
| TAG Immobilien AG | Elgeti, Rolf | VR-Chef | K | 8.844 | 1005 | 27.03.2013 |
| Wincor Nixdorf AG | Bohlen, Jens | VR | K | 36.840 | 1000 | 11.03.2013 |
VIPsight Shareholders
in March
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M & A
SMA Solar gains access to the Middle Kingdom
Hessian photovoltaic and TecDax company SMA Solar Technology AG has acquired a majority stake in Jiangsu Zeversolar New Energy Co., Ltd. The transaction, for a stake of around 73 per cent, has been completed after the Chinese authorities had given the green light. The products of the inverter manufacturer Zeversolar are tailored to the needs of the Chinese market and allow SMA attractive growth opportunities, it claims: in 2013 alone, the Chinese government intends to expand photovoltaic capacity by ten gigawatts, and by 2015 as much as 21 gigawatts. SMA purchased the shares for the equivalent of around 40 million euros in cash.
Steilmann wants to take Adler fashion stores under its wing
The traditional company Steilmann wants to take over the Adler fashion chain. For about half of Adler Modemärkte AG, listed in the Prime Standard of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, Steilmann will spend some 53 million euros. The acquisition would provide both companies with big advantages, they claim: Adler would be a fitting complement to the Steilmann portfolio, but would also benefit from new strategic options for the fashion group. The Adler Board is examining the offer.
Adler’s turnover last year was about half a billion euros. Operating profit was 35 million euros – 14 per cent higher than last year. Adler’s share price fell around 10 per cent in value after the announcement of its takeover plans. Steilmann Holding AG, which since 2006 itself belongs to the Miro Radici Group, is planning a long-term commitment to Adler, and wants to keep the fashion chain in the stock market. Before its stock-market listing in 2011 Adler Modemärkte was once owned by the Düsseldorf-based Metro, and was acquired in 2009 by the Blu O company.
Allies in Toyland – Simba Dickie takes over Märklin
The ailing model-railway manufacturer Märklin now belongs to toys group Simba Dickie. The over 150-year-old traditional brand Märklin is to be preserved, as are the locations at Göppingen and at Györ in Hungary. The purchase price was not disclosed. The new owner is itself a family-run business and the Märklin group’s desired partner.
Simba Dickie CEO Michael Sieber and his son Florian Sieber want in future to bring the Märklin brand back close to very young target groups and also to export more. But they want this year alone to invest nine million euros in the expansion of the plant in Györ. Downsizing is not currently planned. The 1,100 employees in Germany and Hungary will get a job guarantee until 2019, if in return they renounce additional payments. The Bundeskartellamt antitrust agency still has to consider the acquisition.
Märklin already had to file for insolvency in 2009. This was followed by an austerity programme with reduced management, plant closures and massive job cuts. The new owner, however, operates quite successfully. Founded in 1982, Simba Dickie Group, with 3,700 employees, is number three in the German toy market, behind Mattel and Lego. The Fürth company reported sales growth for 2011 of around nine per cent, exceeding the growth rate for the sector.
Since 1998, the toy manufacturer – first under the name of Simba Toys – has saved many toy brands on the brink, including Eichhorn (wooden toys), Schuco (model cars), Noris (games) and Big (Bobby Cars).