VIPsight - November 2013

COMPANIES

Gazprom claims additional payments from E.ON and BASF

E.ON and BASF could discover that gas from the Siberian field of Yushno Russkoje is turning out to be more expensive than originally thought. The two DAX groups are negotiating with Gazprom on the valuation of their multi-million euro participation in the exploitation of the vast gas field the reserves of which could be much higher than thought. E.ON and its subsidiary BASF Wintershall both hold a 25% stake. The Russians are asking for an additional one thousand million Euros. Johannes Teyssen made  a statement in Brussels on October 11 to the effect that E.ON is nowhere near reassessing the extentsion of the reserves and negotiations are only at the initial stages. BASF has been equally reticent; the chemical giant based in Ludwigshafen is contractually obliged to secrecy regarding any possible payment for compensation. When the contract was signed, reserves were estimated in excess of 600 thousand million cubic metres, a figure which has been recently reassessed and now stands at 790 thousand million cubic metres. Gas from Yushno Russkoje is piped to Germany through the Baltic Sea pipeline.

GSW in favour of the Deutsche Wohnen takeover

The envisaged merger of the Deutsche Wohnen and GSW Immobilien real estate companies is getting closer. A resolution passed by the respective management and supervisory boards empowered the two groups to reach an agreement on a swap offer to put before the GSW shareholders. This Business Combination Agreement contains agreements on the future strategy and structure of the company group in the new make-up. In a joint communiqué, GSW confirms its favourable stance on the merger offer submitted by its competitor. The GSW board of management deems the offer to be “proper and adequate” and is advising their shareholders to accept it. Creating and implementing the synergies mentioned, however, might not be so imminent. Both parties plan on taking six months to analyse the situation and a further two years to implement it.

B. Braun, shareholder in Rhön-Klinikum, claims 2 seats on the supervisory board.

In the fight for ownership of Rhön-Klinikum, B. Braun, medical supplier based in Melsungen, Germany, has secured the mnority block. According to a statement of October 15, B. Braun’s stake is 10.98 percent from which the company aims to strengthen its position in the hospital chain with a long term programme, with no need for far-reaching changes in the capital structure or dividend policy. The antitrust authority recently authorised B. Braun to increase its stake up to a maximum of 25%. B. Braun is now seeking full recognition of its status within the hospital management group’s board of supervision, and has applied to the tribunal for two seats for its representatives, filling two posts presently vacant. It is said that Ludwig Braun intends to join the board of control in person with an auditor friend. B. Braun has stated its intention of increasing its stake over the next 12 months. Rhön-Klinikum’s reply is that it will continue to seek to dialogue with the shareholder in the future.

CEWE: new company type - lighter taxation

The SDax listed company CEWE Holding AG is now officially known as CEWE Stiftung ‹ Co. KgaA after changing business type. The company, a provider of services in the fields of printing and photography on line, forecasts a lower tax liability of some 10 million Euros over the coming years.  CEWE management expects that the policy of bundling all its operations will be advantageous tax-wise. In numbers, this raises the share value by 1.36 Euros. This change of business type was approved by more than 97% of shareholders during the general meeting in June.

From its headquarters in Oldenburg, the board of this small- medium sized company confirms the growth forecast for the current year.  Year on year, the turnover of the business area of online printing is expected to increase by 40%, and group turnover by 5% from 510 to 530 million Euros. The company has 12 production facilities and conducts business in 24 countries with 3000 staff.

Jenoptik: speed checks down under

Jenoptik AG has landed a major order of worth exceeding 10 million from Australia for mobile speed check apparatus. The commission by the Roads and Maritime Service on the TecDax listed company will probably come into effect in 2014 for a term of at least three years, and provide for speed checks on the roads of the Federal State of New South Wales. The new road safety initiative is part of a 23 million-euro programme shared between two companies in which Jenoptik will grant the Australians access to the technology and service. Jenoptik, with its specialisation in electronic optics expects to commence implementation of the contract this year with the delivery of the apparatus. Early this year, Jenoptik took over the Australian company DCD Systems Pty Ltd that it incorporated into its “traffic safety” business area.

Solutronic: received by the receiver

The crunch affecting the solar energy market continues unabated. In October, Solutronic AG, manufacturer of inverters for solar panels and provider of solutions for energy storage declared bankruptcy. The company states that its insolvency stemmed from the collapse of its market. Only a few weeks ago, management had attempted to about-turn the company’s negative development trend by introducing new strategic aims and tackling new markets in developing countries outside Germany.

In so doing, Solutronic, a 2010 Entry Standard listed company set out to create new alliances based on strategic and technological cooperation with the Shanghai Chu Rui energy Technology Co. Ltd. In China and Commercial & Residential Energy Storage Systems GmbH. In Germany. It also intended to restructure in order to cut (and be seen cutting) costs.