VIPsight - September 2011
COMPANIES
EU to consider stock-market merger
On 4 August the European Commission announced a detailed examination of the proposed merger between Deutsche Börse and NYSE Euronext. An initial market investigation had revealed competition concerns in a number of areas, particularly in derivatives trading and clearing. Examination of the merger was extended until 13 December. The questionnaire sent to Deutsche Börse on more than 70 issues is to be answered by 8 September. The Commission decision to carry out this further test was already expected and cannot be regarded as an anticipation of the final outcome. The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, a committee of several ministries in the U.S., sees no safety concerns, however, and has given the project the green light.
Blackrock third-largest shareholder in Daimler
U.S. financial investor Blackrock took a stake of 5.72 percent in Stuttgart carmaker Daimler in early August. That puts the world’s largest financial investor behind the Emirate of Kuwait at 6.9 percent and the Abu Dhabi state fund International Petroleum Investment Company (IPIC), as the third largest shareholder. While Renault-Nissan had taken 3.1 percent of the shares as part of a cooperation with the Swabians last year, IPIC came in during the economic crisis in 2009. Daimler recently announced it would invest more than €1.4 billion in the U.S. plant in Tuscaloosa.
Daimler and Rolls Royce on target at Tognum
After the European Commission approved the acquisition of the engine specialists Tognum by the two carmakers Daimler and Rolls Royce in late July, at the end of August the other authorities also gave the green light for the transaction. Daimler and Rolls Royce had initially in April offered shareholders €24 per share of the engine manufacturer through their joint venture Engine Holding GmbH, but then, after hesitation by the Tognum management, reworked their offer in May to €26 per share and given extensive siting guarantees. By 22 August, more shares than necessary were tendered, 96.78 percent. The last remaining shareholders now have time to sell their papers to Engine Holding until 10 November. Daimler and Rolls Royce then plan a squeeze-out to flush out the remaining shareholders. Tognum is then to be taken off the market, according to a Daimler spokesperson. At the end of June the group fell out of the technology index MDAX due to a small free float.
VW seeks approval for takeover of MAN
Volkswagen has, according to statements on 23 August, formally requested European Commission approval for the takeover of MAN. Europe’s biggest carmaker continues to expect to receive all necessary regulatory approval by the end of the year. Worldwide a number of authorities had already issued their clearance for the takeover in recent weeks, said the Wolfsburgers. The VW group needs the permission from Brussels to be able to integrate the Bavarian manufacturer of commercial vehicles as its eleventh brand.
Fresenius Medical Care is growing and growing
The dialysis specialist Fresenius Medical Care (FMC) will put around 1. 7 billion euros on the table for the third-largest U.S. provider, Liberty Dialysis. The Germans also want to pay a further 385 million euros for competitor American Access Care. Both acquisitions still await the permits from the authorities. FMC expects to have to sell dialysis clinics in certain regions to get clearance.
Q-Cells wants "life insurance"
Actually, Bitterfeld solar manufacturer Q-Cells expects to last longer than the warranty period for its modules. However, customers are now very cautious and reluctant to buy, because they fear that in a guarantee case they might get nothing. The customers’ fear is justified: the module specialist recently had to adopt a package of measures that provide for writedowns on its German locations in the amount of 139.7 million euros. A further €73.2 million will be written off on inventories. Although the company recorded revenues of €316 million in the second quarter of 2011, low capacity utilization and the price decline of cells and modules led to an operating loss (EBIT) of €307.7 million. After third-party payments, quarterly net income even fell to minus €354.8 million. Now the Bitterfelders are reacting by largely relocating module production to the cheaper Malaysian plant. 25 to 30 percent of the costs of the German management are also to be saved. Compulsory redundancies should be avoided, however. Nevertheless, the outlook for the entire year remains gloomy: with a turnover of one billion euros, the management expects a loss of hundreds of millions. Not until 2012 does Q-Cells expect its EBIT to be back in the black. The company’s management is reacting to its customers’ fears of bankruptcy and considering, according to Financial Times Deutschland, taking out insurance for warranty claims, a sort of life-insurance policy for the modules to reassure customers.
Fraport interested in Hochtief’s airports
Together with the Deutsche Bank’s infrastructure fund RREF, the airport operator Fraport has bid for construction company Hochtief’s foreign airport holdings, reports Financial Times Deutschland. The Essen firm holds stakes in several airports, including Düsseldorf and Hamburg as well as Athens, Budapest, Tirana and Sidney, in its concessions division, which it wants to get rid of by the year’s end. There was no interest in the German holdings, said Fraport.
Commerzbank makes write-offs
The debt crisis recently hailed down on the second-largest German retail bank’s balance sheet. The Frankfurt-based Commerzbank made writedowns on Greek government bonds in its portfolio in the amount of 760 million euros on 30 June. As a result, the outcome for the second quarter fell to 24 million euros, after 352 million euros in the same quarter last year. Analysts had expected a quarterly profit of €34.4 million. The cause of the collapse in earnings was the negative earnings from financial investments, which ended up 954 million in the red. The adjustments on the government securities are posted here. While the core bank reported an overall positive result, the internal bad bank brought the negative result.
Thiele stocks up at Vossloh
Heinz Hermann Thiele could, according to a report from the Federal Cartel Office, expand his share of Vossloh to at least 25 percent. The owner of Knorr Bremse announced the share purchase to check, as a precaution. Thiele had in spring exceeded the threshold of five percent in the transportation technology group, increasing his stake most recently to 15.29 percent in July. Officially, the brake manufacturer has not yet commented on the commitment.
IPO climate cools
It should have been a hot autumn for IPOs. Besides the big players, the specialty chemical company Evonik, Siemens lighting subsidiary Osram and the slightly smaller specialty chemicals supplier Starck, the automotive division of defence contractor Rheinmetall is standing in the wings for a run at the stock exchange. But the current market turmoil will probably throw a big spanner in the works for the candidates. Especially for the Rheinmetall subsidiary Kolbenschmidt-Pierburg, the window could close quickly, experts suggest. While the industry is currently borne along by a boom in passenger cars, the debt crisis is leaving investors increasingly cautious.
DaimlerChrysler donates to politics
The Stuttgart-based car maker Daimler donated 150,000 euros in mid-August to each of the two political parties CDU and SPD, stated the Bundestag agency responsible for managing political contributions. As news agency dpa reported, donations each in equal amount were also made to the two major parties in the years 2007 to 2010. The smaller parties CSU, FDP and Greens received, according to a Daimler spokesperson, 45,000 euros each from Stuttgart. Only the Left Party went empty-handed at the fundraiser, it was said.
Buhlmann's Corner
Financial Market - a fable for our time
Last week, caught by the rain, I moved from my seat on a bench in a Bavarian beer garden to one in the back of the bar - and who should I meet but Financial Market. And just because it was raining, we chatted a bit.
He wondered if I couldn’t ask out loud, out there under the chestnut trees, whether and why Société Générale could no longer cover Jérôme Kerviel’s current account. “Actually, I’d like to join you for a bit. Would that be OK?” I replied. “Sure! just go to the kitchen and see if you can get a few accounts set up. Then slip into the basement and look for the appropriate shareholders. Have I already told you that in the stock market assets are only moved about and redistributed? Don’t forget that some people there plan and invest long-term. But what happens in the period until the end of the long term does not interest them. Even the managers’ behaviour doesn’t matter a whit to them. They don’t sell or buy, don’t vote in general meetings, but at best buy placebos to keep the watchdogs happy.” I should pay particular attention to these people, Financial Market told me; they were very important, because they held the shares that were to be destroyed. For a small fee he could then make them worthless. And there were earnings on both sides of the trade - first selling and then buying.
“Why do they let you do that?” I asked. “It’s obvious,” he said. “After all, the managers like the rental fee right away, and by the time things are sold everything looks different anyway. And you know, the shares don’t belong to anyone directly.” “What?” I said, surprised. “Don’t they belong to all the boys and girls in the basement?” “Yes, yes ...” he hastily assured me. “Well, perhaps they don’t actually belong to them, but they are trustees. And anyway, they often come by to chat with me. But most of them also have nice offices on the street. And even some politician or another drops in sometimes.”
Somehow Financial Market felt the last remark to have been important. Before he sent me out on the road to ask questions there about the Société Générale, I wanted to clarify two other things. “Do the final beneficiaries, i.e. the Ergo, Parmalat and Santander pensioners or the mothers and fathers that pay their monthly pennies into the German DEKA, the French Eichhorn or all of the superannuation schemes, actually know that with their savings stocks can be bought, and then taken to you in the basement of the bar to to be destroyed for a fee?” “Yeah, yeah,” he said very quickly. “Aren’t they all part of the financial market? Don’t they each benefit?”
Now that I’ve finally met someone who has understood all that and knows the responsibilities exactly, I can look in the mirror in the morning again and calmly wash my hands.
ACTIONS CORNER
Shareholders are preparing a class-action lawsuit in the amount of 400 million Australian dollars against HOCHTIEF subsidiary Leighton Holdings, for a profit warning in April. Maurice Blackburn announced the action on 1 September, and accused the Australian company of having violated its ongoing disclosure obligations. The shareholders are demanding compensation because Leighton had on their assessment not informed them in time of cost increases, delays in two major projects and the need for further depreciation in a joint venture. Leighton has as yet been served no action.
The Deutsche Bank did not discriminate against Effecten-Spiegel in the acquisition of Postbank, and need not pay former Postbank shareholders anything more. On 29 July Cologne Regional Court dismissed as unfounded a complaint from the investment company, which had sued for a higher settlement offer. In 2009 Deutsche Bank acquired over 25 percent of the shares, 22.9 percent from Deutsche Post, the rest from private investors. A mutual agreement on options for an additional 12.1 percent concluded between the old and new owners before the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers in September 2008 was based on prices for Postbank shares of €45-49. The Düsseldorf company, which got only 25 euros per share, felt disadvantaged by this arrangement.
The criminal proceedings against Rolf Breuer before Munich Regional Court I were stayed on 18 August before the indictment was read. The defence had asked for a suspension because it had not been informed in time about the composition of the court, said Judge Anton Winkler. Due to scheduling conflicts, the court had commissioned an alternate lay judge, but the replacement also had to cancel his participation. The Code of Procedure provides, however, that a trial can only be interrupted for three weeks. Judge Winkler thereupon stayed the proceedings, as the period of one week envisaged for the interruption threatened the judges' vacation plans. The former Deutsche Bank chief had publicly questioned Leo Kirch's creditworthiness nine years ago.
Four employees of Deutsche Bank and Deutsche Securities Korea are threatened with proceedings for improper trading activities. Because of the placement of large sell orders shortly before the close of trading, the South Korean stock market experienced an unusually sharp fall in ten minutes’ trading in November 2010, with market capital worth $27 billion destroyed. On 19 August prosecutors lodged an indictment in this context in Seoul. They accuse the four bankers of having made 44.8 million won (28.5 million euros) thereby.
In the trial about sales-tax fraud in CO2 certificates, the role of the Deutsche Bank has moved to the centre. Another defendant has confessed before the Frankfurt District Court to executing transactions relevant to the evasion of 36 million euros turnover tax in emissions trading. He says he was hired by two securities dealers from the UK to run the million-euro purchase and sale of carbon-emissions-trading certificates. Only the Deutsche Bank had made the trade possible, by providing the necessary funding. Immediately, numerous customers presented themselves. The Bank believes that it neither caused nor is responsible for a tax loss.
The U.S. has renewed and expanded its accusations against the Deutsche Bank in litigation because of the activities of MortgageIT, as an application filed on 22 August in a U.S. court in Manhattan shows. The authorities so far accused the bank that its U.S. real-estate subsidiary bought in 2007 had made false statements in order to gain free access to a government programme that underwrote mortgages. The bank had already known prior to the acquisition of the real-estate subsidiary that it had made false statements. Thus, Germany's largest bank had to be financially liable.
The FDIC has to face a ten billion dollar action brought by Deutsche Bank, after a federal judge dismissed the complaint against the lawsuit by the U.S. deposit insurance agency. It is about Washington Mutual (WaMu), which had collapsed under the weight of rotten mortgage loans in 2008 and had to be rescued by the FDIC. The Deutsche Bank National Trust as trustee of mortgage securities had filed the action against WaMu in 2009 on the grounds that it had securitized loans which did not have the promised quality. The institution had thus lost investors billions of dollars.
The U.S. Department of Justice surprisingly announced on 31 August that it would act against the acquisition of T-Mobile USA by AT&T. The agency fears the transaction would further set back competition in the mobile market. In its complaint, the entire case is in federal court in Washington. Deutsche Telekom must now work out alternatives to a sale to its U.S. competitor; but the company had "several scenarios" for strategies, said Niek van Damme. The original transaction has still not finally failed, though; AT&T is known in America for its aggressive lobbying.
AGM Dates
Politics
German-French push for the financial-transactions tax
The debate over the tax on financial transactions known since 1972 as the Tobin tax was re-ignited by the banking crisis of 2008. The taxation of financial transactions, such as trading in shares, currencies or bonds or other securities, is seen as a way to curb speculation in the markets and make the financial sector contribute to the costs of the financial crisis. In the wake of the recent debt crisis in Europe, Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) and French President Nicholas Sarkozy agreed at their bilateral meeting in mid-August that for them the tax was a top priority and should be introduced at least in Europe. For September, the two leaders have announced a joint text. Meanwhile, German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble (CDU) is already counting on the revenue from a tax on financial transactions as from 2012. It is earmarked in the federal budget at an annual total of two billion euros. According to calculations, at a tax rate of 0.01-0.05 per cent the tax could bring in between 10 and 20 billion euros annually in Germany alone.
But the Franco-German effort is ambitious. Firstly, all EU countries must agree to the introduction: in Europe the unanimity principle applies in tax matters. Secondly, Britain is vehemently against this tax. The British fear that the tax could harm the City of London by making the banking sector move to countries without such a tax. A restriction to the eurozone is, however, regarded by experts as pointless. Now the EU Commission too has announced a draft law introducing the tax for the autumn. Meanwhile, shareholder associations are critical. Germany’s DSW warns that the introduction of the levy would further impair the country’s equity culture and through the already burdened financial intermediaries put a further strain of indirect taxes on their customers. Once again private investors were being asked to pay, said general manager Ulrich Hocker. Deutsche Bank chief Josef Ackermann also warned that the German and French plans were problematic. The tax would make it hard for banks in the eurozone to be profitable, and they would be forced to relocate their activities to other countries. The Federal Association of German Banks (BdB) criticized the initiative, as the introduction of the tax was not an element for stabilizing the currency union. The German Savings Banks and Giro Association (DSGV), however, advocates the tax as a proper measure for more stability. The financial transaction tax was already on the agenda of the G20 meeting of Heads of State and Government in the autumn of 2009, but could not be resolved there.
Hedge funds betting against German stocks
While in Germany a broader ban on short selling is not in sight, the temporary bans on short selling which France, Spain and Italy imposed for financial stocks led to losses and declines in share prices in this country which went well beyond those for other indices in the euro area. As is evident from figures from Data Explorers, bets on declining prices of banking and financial stocks in Germany, Britain and the U.S. are the speculators’ new strategy. According to the data from the British provider, the proportion of borrowed shares in German financial stocks has risen by 31 percent since mid-August. Market participants have moved to DAX futures, because the short-selling bans contained in the Securities Trading Act do not affect the futures market. There were still no plans for such a ban, a spokesman for the Federal Finance Ministry said on 25 August.
People
Professor Heinz Jörg Fuhrmann was unanimously elected new supervisory-board chairman of Aurubis with effect from 1 October. Ernst Wortberg will in future be only an ordinary member, the company announced on 30 August. Previously, the part-State company had lifted its share of Europe’s leading integrated copper producer back above the important threshold of 25 percent.
Eric Strutz will not extend his contract with Commerzbank, and will leave the partly nationalized bank at the end of March 2012. Until then, the CFO’s responsibilities will continue. The 46-year-old manager wants to take a year’s break and devote himself to his family.
Burkhard Schuchmann is resigning, effective 23 September, and leaving the supervisory board of Demag Cranes, the crane manufacturer announced on 10 August. Terex has now secured over 80 percent of Demag. Meanwhile, the EU’s antitrust authority has approved the transaction. The U.S. construction-equipment manufacturers had announced their intention to be appropriately involved in the supervisory board.
Barely a week after completion of the acquisition of Demag Cranes by Terex, two board members have filed notice of termination. Rainer Beaujean and Thomas Hagen want to leave the crane manufacturer by the end of November, Demag Cranes announced on 22 August. Each has made use of the special termination right due them in connection with the change of control.
Professor Werner J. Bauer has been appointed to the Supervisory Board of GEA Group. The Chief Technology Officer of the Nestlé group succeeds Dieter Ammer, who resigned for personal reasons on 7 July. His appointment by the court ends with the next GEA Annual General Meeting on 24 April next year. Bauer sits inter alia on the Board of L’Oréal.
Hanover Re has appointed Claude Chèvre as a full member of the board. The 44-year-old, who comes from Partner Re, will together with Klaus Miller be responsible as from 1 February 2012 for the business area of personal reinsurance, the reinsurance group announced on 8 August. Born in Switzerland, he succeeds Wolf Becke, retiring on 1 January 2012.
Kabel Deutschland Holding has found the successor to the retiring Paul Thomason in-house. Andreas Siemen becomes the new CFO of the largest cable company in Germany on 1 October. The 49-year-old has been employed since 2003 at the cable operator; recently he was director in charge of the areas of corporate strategy, acquisitions and finance, and also involved in the IPO of the Group.
Praktiker has announced that the Supervisory Board has appointed Thomas Fox as chairman from 1 October and Joseph Schultheis as a member of the Board with immediate effect. Fox is known for fast and efficient cost management and should focus on reducing rental and personnel costs. Until the 54-year-old occupies his head office in Kirkel, Saarland, Schultheis - with whom Fox had already worked together at Karstadt - is to lead the ailing DIY group. Thus the provisional succession to outgoing CEO Wolfgang Werner, blamed by many for the decline of the company, has been settled as expected. He did not manage to present clients and investors with anything new following the end of the 20-percent discount offers.
QSC is expanding its board. The telecommunications service provider has appointed Arnold Stender and Thomas Stoek to the Board from 1 September. They are to promote the sales and operational development of the group to become a leading German ICT service provider for SMEs, said supervisory-board chairman Herbert Brenke. Stender will be responsible for indirect sales, but should especially intensify sales through partners and simultaneously open up new sales channels for the expanded product portfolio. Stoek is CEO of Info and on top of this function will also take responsibility for direct sales of the QSC group. He has over 20 years of IT experience in national and international companies.
On 1 July 2012 Jürgen Grossmann will be replaced at RWE by Peter Terium. The 47-year-old Dutchman will initially join the Board on 1 September as Deputy Chairman, as the utility announced on 8 August after a supervisory-board meeting. Also in mid-2012, board member Rolf Martin Schmitz will be appointed as Deputy Chairman.
Campus
Insiders are buying
Since executives and supervisory-board members have good insight into their companies’ order books and balance-sheets, so-called Directors’ Dealings can act as a signal to the market that a company might soon go back up. The Frankfurt-based analyst firm Research 2iQ has been observing purchases and sales of shares by business leaders for five years. In August, they noticed a run on own shares in German, but also European and US, corporations. When prices plummeted in early August, insiders ordered shares worth 164.1 million euros Europe-wide. As against 804 purchase orders, there were 70 sales, with a value of only 6.6 million euros. That was the highest ratio between purchase and sale of shares since the start of data collection by 2iQ. In Germany alone, prices fell by more than 20 percent within eleven days, and there were purchase orders worth €24 million, as against sales of only €1.4 million. By the end of the month there had been 2333 purchases and only 260 sales. In particular, Metro, Merck, BASF and Heidelberg Cement shares were bought. At trading company Metro, group CEO Eckhard Cordes purchased 5000 Metro shares, with a value of €172,250. Board member Frans Muller ordered €196,500 worth of shares, and CFO Olaf Koch even €345,000 worth. After being forced to sell heavily in the crisis, business family Merckle upped its commitment at the Heidelberg cement producer in late July by 840,000 shares, valued at 30 million. The recent buying trend for CEOs is even stronger than after the price crash of 2008 and 2009, according to 2iQ. On the sales list was Linde’s CEO Wolfgang Reitzle, who sold 65,000 shares from an incentive programme, making €8.2 million. A negative price slide caused Lanxess CEO Axel Heitmann to get rid of €10 million worth of papers.
Future of Annual Reports
The Institute for Media and Communication Management at the University of St. Gallen, in cooperation with external partners including PricewaterhouseCoopers, has explored the trend in corporate reporting. Three key trends can accordingly be identified in company communications: Storytelling, Reduce to the Max and Mash Up. Thus, the Annual Report is increasingly becoming a serial story, recording the events and developments of the past year. The capital-market professionals are also overwhelmed by the flood of coverage. Moreover, the key performance indicators should reflect the business model and illustrate how the company makes its money. Transparency and comparability in reporting may be achieved through the use of the internationally established reporting language eXtensible Business Reporting (XBRL). St. Gallen sees the future in simplicity of content, reduction to essentials and fast publication. Increasingly, different target groups would call up the precise data they need for their own purposes. “The Annual Report will be a self-service store, a kind of portal, which at best gives brief instructions for use,” the study summarizes the mash-up trend. In future, therefore, companies should ask more which target group they want to reach and what the function of the annual report is.
Insurance accounting too uneven
16 European insurers examined by KPMG auditors were doing significantly better in late 2010 than a year earlier, with surpluses up an average of ten percent. However, the reported figures were barely comparable. Operating results were defined each on their own terms, says the KPMG study, criticizing the accounting practices of financial conglomerates. The biggest problems caused thereby were elimination of the fluctuations in market values of financial assets, and tax effects, depreciation and amortization. The auditors therefore urge the London-based International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) to reduce the volatility in the new standards announced for 2012.
Share ownership rises
In the first half of 2011 some 8.3 million people in Germany directly or indirectly held shares, according to the German Share Institute (DAI). Thus, the number of shareholders rose slightly, to 12.8 percent of the total population. While 3.7 million, or 5.7 percent of the population, invested directly in equities and thus the number rose by 276,000 compared to the second half of 2010, the number of investors in equity or balanced funds over the same period grew by 117,000 to 6.1 million, or 9.4 percent of the population.
BMW and Deutsche Bank top in business communication
The consulting firm Dr. Doeblin has again this year awarded prizes for the best press work in various categories. With quick and competent answers to questions and promptness of compliance with interview requests, the two DAX heavyweights BMW and Deutsche Bank scored the best image this year with 256 business journalists interviewed for good and professionally done press work by large companies. Behind them came Allianz and Volkswagen.
Compensation sharply up
The transparency of executive compensation in Germany has increased significantly since 2002, the first study by German shareholder association DSW. In the Annual General Meeting season just over, 27 of the 30 DAX companies put their executive remuneration system to a vote at the shareholder meeting. The outliers are MAN, Merck, and Infineon. The average salary increased by 22 percent and is now 2.9 million euros, close to the 2007 level. At €4.5 million, CEOs especially were paid significantly better than their board colleagues. MDAX executive compensation increased by 18 percent in 2011 to an average of €1.55 million. MDAX CEOs earned on average €2.16 million. Internationally, German managers ranked in the middle between France and Switzerland. The United States is still at the top.
IASB proposals unpopular
The International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) has produced proposals for profound change in the future presentation of financial statements. The goal is to obtain more detailed information and a unified presentation of the balance-sheet, total earnings and cash-flow statement. However, many companies see no real sense in this, as consulting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) show in their study “The Financial Statement Presentation project: Much effort, little benefit?”. Between February and May PwC surveyed 36 companies, including eight companies from the DAX and ten from the MDAX. In general, the conversion project is encouraged by companies. However, respondents perceive the costs and benefits of the proposed changes to be disproportionate. The criticism here is mainly of the direct visualization of the operating cash flow.
Capital News
GAGFAH has completed its share buyback programme. The housing corporation has purchased 5,632,247 shares at an aggregate price of €38.2 million, the company, majority owned by private-equity firm Fortress, announced on 31 July. This corresponds to both 2.5 percent of share capital and an average of €6.78 per share. The Administrative Board had also decided on 1 August to close the programme begun on 8 December 2010 to buy back shares worth a total of up to €125 million and for the time being not to exploit it any further, but reserves the right to resume it in the same or a different form at a later date.
GILDEMEISTER has started a share buyback. The machine-tool builder wants to buy 3,068,581 papers from 26 August to at the latest 31 December, which represents 5.1 percent of the capital, as the MDAX Group announced in Bielefeld on 25 August. The shares will according to the company primarily be used as “currency” for future acquisitions. The Annual General Meeting in 2010 had already given the green light for the buyback.
United Internet has already announced its fourth share repurchase in the current year. The ISP plans to repurchase 9.3 million of its own shares via the stock exchange. The repurchase corresponds to a good 4.3 percent of the share capital. The TECDAX company is using an authorization from the shareholders. The shares could serve as currency for acquisitions, be used for employee-ownership programmes or be withdrawn. Previously, the share capital will be reduced by ten million euros to 215 million euros. Then the repurchase programme will begin.
Director's Dealings
| Company | Person | Function | Buy / Sell | Total value in Euro | Number of shares | Datum |
| Aareal Bank | Erwin Flieger | SB | B | 23.031 | 1.500 | 11.08.2011 |
| Allianz | Michael Diekmann | MB-Head | B | 710.400 | 10.000 | 18.08.2011 |
| Allianz | Michael Diekmann | MB-Head | S | 355.400 | 5.000 | 18.08.2011 |
| Allianz | Jay Stuart Ralph | MB | B | 100.000 | 1.250 | 05.08.2011 |
| Axel Springer | Lothar Lanz | MB | B | 90.600 | 3.000 | 15.-16.08.2011 |
| BASF | Kurt Bock | MB-Head | B | 252.960 | 4.500 | 29.07.-10.08.2011 |
| BASF | Prof. Dr. Francois Diederich | SB | B | 27.596 | 520 | 16.08.2011 |
| BASF | Michael Diekmann | SB | B | 202.080 | 4.000 | 18.08.2011 |
| BASF | Michael Heinz | MB | B | 197.420 | 3.500 | 03.-30.08.2011 |
| BASF | Fatoumata Kissa-Diekmann | B | 100.081 | 2.050 | 24.08.2011 | |
| BASF | Dr. Andreas Kreimeyer | MB | B | 99.744 | 2.000 | 08.-11.08.2011 |
| BASF | Margret Suckale | MB | B | 22.853 | 368 | 01.08.2011 |
| Bechtle | Schick GmbH | B | 1.195.000 | 50.000 | 25.08.2011 | |
| Bilfinger Berger | Bernhard Walter | SB-Head | B | 99.868 | 1.680 | 12.08.2011 |
| COMMERZBANK | Klaus Hoffmann | B | 1.860 | 1.000 | 19.08.2011 | |
| COMMERZBANK | Daniel Hampel | SB | B | 2.464 | 1.300 | 19.08.2011 |
| Daimler | Bernhard Walter | SB | B | 149.340 | 3.800 | 10.08.2011 |
| DEUTSCHE BANK | Martina Klee | SB | B | 6.100 | 200 | 10.08.2011 |
| Deutsche EuroShop | Thomas Armbrust | SB | B | 98.481 | 4.375 | 09.08.2011 |
| Deutsche Lufthansa | Dr. Christoph Franz | MB-Head | B | 148.920 | 13.600 | 25.08.2011 |
| Deutsche Lufthansa | Carsten Spohr | B | 21.540 | 2.000 | 24.08.2011 | |
| Deutsche Telekom | Hans-Jürgen Kallmeier | SB | B | 3.718 | 400 | 09.08.2011 |
| Dialog | Martin Powell | MB | B | 11.530 | 1.000 | 08.08.2011 |
| Dialog | Jean-Michel Richard | MB | S | 585.989 | 40.413 | 01.08.2011 |
| Dialog | Jean-Michel Richard | MB | Exercising an Option | 15.761 | 40.413 | 01.08.2011 |
| Dialog | Gregorio Reyes | SB | S | 329.561 | 23.340 | 01.08.2011 |
| Dialog | Jalal Bagherli | MB | S | 1.513.910 | 105.720 | 01.08.2011 |
| Dialog | Jalal Bagherli | MB | Exercising an Option | 29.476 | 50.820 | 01.08.2011 |
| E.ON | Gabriele Gratz | SB | B | 43.245 | 3.000 | 22.08.2011 |
| E.ON | Regine Stachelhaus | MB | B | 29.180 | 2.000 | 23.08.2011 |
| E.ON | Dr. Bernhard Reutersberg | MB | B | 16.781 | 1.100 | 15.08.2011 |
| E.ON | Werner Wenning | SB-Head | B | 151.100 | 10.000 | 16.08.2011 |
| E.ON | Dr. Johannes Teyssen | MB-Head | B | 108.675 | 7.000 | 15.08.2011 |
| E.ON | Dr. Klaus-Dieter Maubach | MB | B | 28.975 | 1.900 | 15.08.2011 |
| E.ON | Jorgen Kildahl | MB | B | 30.730 | 2.000 | 15.08.2011 |
| ElringKlinger | Gabriele Birkel-Lechler | B | 48.399 | 2.550 | 03.08.2011 | |
| ElringKlinger | Klaus Lechler Beteiligungs-GmbH | B | 185.378 | 10.000 | 04.08.2011 | |
| ElringKlinger | Lechler Beteiligungs-GmbH | B | 37.076 | 2.000 | 04.08.2011 | |
| ElringKlinger | Lechler-Guggolz GmbH | B | 190.230 | 10.000 | 02.-04.08.2011 | |
| ElringKlinger | Karl Uwe van Husen | SB | B | 16.445 | 1.000 | 30.08.2011 |
| Fielmann | Sören Dannmeier | SB | B | 20.113 | 295 | 05.08.2011 |
| Fraport | Dr. Matthias Zieschang | MB | B | 20.024 | 440 | 09.08.2011 |
| Fresenius | Rainer Baule | MB | Exercising an Option | 329.063 | 10.965 | 30.08.2011 |
| Fresenius | Stephan Sturm | MB | S | 636.305 | 8.800 | 01.09.2011 |
| Fresenius | Stephan Sturm | MB | B | 69.604 | 1.000 | 04.08.2011 |
| Fresenius | Dr. Ernst Wastler | MB | Exercising an Option | 159.672 | 3.300 | 24.08.2011 |
| FUCHS PETROLUB | Dr. Jürgen Hambrecht | SB-Head | B | 102.445 | 3.500 | 08.08.2011 |
| Gerresheimer | Uwe Röhrhoff | MB-Head | B | 98.935 | 3.415 | 09.08.2011 |
| GERRY WEBER | R + U Weber GmbH & Co. KG | B | 1.386.851 | 63.693 | 22.07.-05.08.2011 | |
| HeidelbergCement | VEM Vermögensverwaltung GmbH | B | 39.390.886 | 1.189.671 | 29.07.-19.08.2011 | |
| K+S | Dr. Rainer Gerling | SB | B | 28.675 | 650 | 11.08.2011 |
| K+S | Dr. Thomas Nöcker | MB | B | 80.772 | 2.000 | 11.08.2011 |
| K+S | Jan Peter Nonnenkamp | MB | B | 84.410 | 2.000 | 11.-18.08.2011 |
| Klöckner & Co | Ulrich Becker | MB | B | 101.932 | 10.000 | 11.08.2011 |
| Klöckner & Co | Cassiopeia GmbH | B | 100.500 | 10.000 | 11.08.2011 | |
| Klöckner & Co | Gisbert Rühl | MB | B | 124.699 | 12.500 | 11.-19.08.2011 |
| Kontron | Hugh Nevin | SB | B | 19.675 | 3.175 | 08.08.2011 |
| Kontron | Ulrich Gehrmann | MB-Head | B | 12.000 | 2.000 | 09.08.2011 |
| KRONES | Schawei GmbH | B | 1.851.051 | 42.000 | 03.-19.08.2011 | |
| LANXESS | Axel Heitmann | MB-Head | S | 9.881.264 | 253.691 | 19.08.2011 |
| Linde | Dr. Aldo Belloni | MB | B | 196.173 | 2.000 | 22..-23.08.2011 |
| Linde | Mark Omar Diekmann | B | 5.660 | 50 | 05.08.2011 | |
| Linde | Prof.Dr. Wolfgang Reitzle | MB-Head | S | 8.185.450 | 65.000 | 01.08.2011 |
| MERCK | Dr. Karl-Ludwig Kley | MB-Head | B | 149.716 | 2.160 | 27.07.-25.08.2011 |
| MERCK | Dr. Stefan Oschmann | MB | B | 165.784 | 2.400 | 27.07.-18.08.2011 |
| MERCK | Dr. Eva Zachert | B | 100.769 | 1.500 | 05.08.2011 | |
| MERCK | Matthias Zachert | MB | B | 99.368 | 1.481 | 05.08.2011 |
| METRO | Hubert Frieling | SB | B | 1.557 | 50 | 11.08.2011 |
| METRO | Frans W. H. Muller | MB | B | 196.500 | 6.000 | 05.08.2011 |
| METRO | Olaf Koch | MB | B | 345.500 | 10.000 | 03.08.2011 |
| METRO | Dr. Eckhard Cordes | MB-Head | B | 172.250 | 5.000 | 03.08.2011 |
| MorphoSys | Jens Hostein | MB | B | 16.957 | 1.000 | 08.08.2011 |
| MorphoSys | Dr. Arndt Schottelius | MB | B | 8.579 | 500 | 04.-05.08.2011 |
| MTU | Udo Stark | SB | B | 84.480 | 2.000 | 09.08.2011 |
| MTU | Udo Stark Vermögensverwaltung | B | 84.480 | 2.000 | 09.08.2011 | |
| MTU | Dr. Rainer Martens | MB | B | 49.427 | 1.150 | 05.08.2011 |
| Nordex | momentum-capital Vermögensverwaltung | B | 15.497 | 3.900 | 22.08.2011 | |
| Nordex | Ventus Venture Fund | B | 237.939 | 60.250 | 23.08.2011 | |
| ProSieben | Philipp Freise | SB | B | 131.100 | 10.000 | 30.08.2011 |
| ProSieben | Johannes Huth | SB | B | 927.750 | 75.000 | 18.08.2011 |
| RWE | Dr. Leonhard Birnbaum | MB | B | 42.137 | 1.600 | 26.08.2011 |
| RWE | Roger Graef | SB | B | 23.590 | 1.000 | 29.08.2011 |
| RWE | Dr. Rolf Pohlig | MB | B | 31.681 | 1.203 | 26.08.2011 |
| RWE | Dr. Rolf Martin Schmitz | MB | B | 142.363 | 5.515 | 19.-26.08.2011 |
| SAP | Sikka Vishal | MB | B | 73.976 |
1.500 | 18.08.2011 |
| Singulus | Günter Bachmann | SB | B | 6.348 | 2.189 | 05.08.2011 |
| Sky Deutschland | Brian Sullivan | MB-Head | B | 65.390 | 30.000 | 17.-19.08.2011 |
| Software AG | Heinz Otto Geidt | SB | B | 20.510 | 700 | 05.08.2011 |
| STRATEC Biomedical | Bernd M. Steidle | MB | S | 301.506 | 10.000 | 04.-05.08.2011 |
| STRATEC Biomedical | Marcus Wolfinger | MB-Head | S | 301.506 | 10.000 | 04.-05.08.2011 |
| Süss MicroTec | Michael Knopp | MB | S | 80.570 | 10.000 | 15.08.2011 |
| Süss MicroTec | Michael Knopp | MB | B | 63.500 | 10.000 | 05.08.2011 |
| Symrise | Dr. Heinz-Jürgen Bertram | MB-Head | B | 156.090 | 9.000 | 10.-11.08.2011 |
| Symrise | Bernd Hirsch | MB | B | 79.650 | 4.500 | 10.08.2011 |
| Wacker Chemie | Dr. Wilhelm Sittenthaler | MB | B | 49.893 | 530 | 18.08.2011 |
| Wacker Chemie | Dr. Rudolf Staudigl | MB-Head | B | 116.490 | 1.000 | 02.08.2011 |
VIPsight Shareholders
in August
Shares held by capital investment companies:
| Shares | Changes | ||||||
| DAX | DAX | ||||||
| 1 | Linde | 30,03 | 1 | Fresenius | 1,63 | ||
| 2 | adidas | 27,16 | 2 | Volkswagen | 1,26 | ||
| 3 | Infineon | 26,52 | 3 | Linde | 1,25 | ||
| 28 | ThyssenKrupp | 9,24 | 28 | E.ON | -0,15 | ||
| 29 | Beiersdorf | 7,46 | 29 | Beiersdorf | -0,29 | ||
| 30 | Commerzbank | 1,52 | 30 | Deutsche Lufthansa | -0,32 | ||
| MDAX | MDAX | ||||||
| 1 | Rheinmetall | 44,21 | 1 | Aareal Bank | 4,02 | ||
| 2 | Bilfinger Berger | 42,39 | 2 | FUCHS PETROLUB | 3,10 | ||
| 3 | LANXESS | 38,61 | 3 | Continental | 2,80 | ||
| 48 | Hamburger Hafen und Logistik | 5,06 | 48 | GILDEMEISTER | -0,61 | ||
| 49 | GAGFAH | 4,63 | 49 | Vossloh | -1,08 | ||
| 50 | BayWa | 3,18 | 50 | ProSieben | -1,35 | ||
| TECDAX | TECDAX | ||||||
| 1 | Pfeiffer Vacuum | 47,80 | 1 | Software AG | 6,55 | ||
| 2 | Wirecard | 43,31 | 2 | STRATEC Biomedical | 3,78 | ||
| 3 | AIXTRON | 41,56 | 3 | SÜSS MicroTec | 3,70 | ||
| 28 | QSC | 6,00 | 28 | QIAGEN | -0,53 | ||
| 29 | Q-Cells | 5,78 | 29 | AIXTRON | -0,70 | ||
| 29 | Nordex | 4,58 | 30 | Roth & Rau | -5,15 |
*Changes from previous month, percent
VIPsight Shareholder ID <click here>
Event Diary
15 September 2011 Pensionsverpflichtungen – Aktuelle Trends [Pension Liabilities - Current Trends]
Organizer: Deutsches Aktieninstitut; place: DVFA-Center im Signaris, Mainzer Landstraße 37-39, Frankfurt am Main;cost €900; info: 089 929150
20 September 2011 Clemens Börsig, Staat und Finanzwirtschaft auf der Suche nach neuen Strukturen [Government and financial industry on the lookout for new structures]
CFS-Kolloquium, Organizer: Center for Financial Studies; place: Frankfurter Innenstadt; info: www.ifk-cfs.de
22 September 2011 Global perspective on the financial crisis
CFS Symposium, Organizer: Center for Financial Studies; place: Campus Westend, Goethe Universität, Frankfurt am Main; info: www.ifk-cfs.de
Reading suggestions
Buschhüter, Michael, Striegel, Andreas (eds.), Internationale Rechnungslegung – IFRS [International Financial Reporting – IFRS]
Gabler Verlag, 1235 pp, €149.95, ISBN 978-3-8349-1989-2
In Germany, all publicly traded companies are required to prepare IFRS financial statements. Many other companies provide IFRS financial statements on a voluntary basis. Companies and their advisers must therefore master the IFRS. This commentary offers important advice in all matters of practice. The editors and authors have created a work that presents the International Accounting Standards in compact and solution-oriented fashion. Well-grounded and with many practical tips and examples of use, it provides all the information for a legally safe application of the IFRS.
Eschenbach, Rolf, Siller, Helmut, Controlling professionell
2nd ed., Schäffer-Poeschel Verlag, 392 pp, €39.95, ISBN 978-3-7910-3121-7
This book provides practitioners and students with the basic knowledge for normative, strategic and operational controlling. The authors’ holistic system approach takes into account side, retroactive, before and after effects and clears the way for new and innovative solutions.
Gehwald, Markus, Naumann, Stefan (eds.), Investmentfonds – eine Branche positioniert sich [Mutual funds - an industry positions itself]
Gabler Verlag, 262 pp, €54.95, ISBN 978-3-8349-2659-3
The book is aimed at fund, sales and marketing managers in the fund industry. It shows how, particularly after the experiences of the financial-market crisis, important decisions in terms of product visibility and customer service can create competitive advantages and investor confidence. Investment funds offer tremendous advantages over asset classes with higher complexity (for example, derivative financial instruments). High-ranking experts in the industry use innovative approaches to show how fund companies and also consultants can realize these opportunities. Discussion contributions from the management level of the BVI (Bundesverband Investment und Asset Management e.V.) make this book required reading.