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July 17, 2008
Hamburg,
Germany: Conergy to Raise €450 million
The
Management Board of Conergy AG with the consent of the Supervisory
Board today announced plans for a significant increase of the
company’s equity base to substantially strengthen the balance
sheet of the company. Conergy is inviting shareholders to its
annual general meeting, to be held in Hamburg on August 28, 2008.
The
company will seek shareholder approval for a capital increase
with subscription rights for existing shareholders with expected
gross proceeds of approximately €450 million. The subscription
ratio and price will be determined shortly prior to the start
of the transaction on the basis of prevailing market conditions.
Credit Suisse and Dresdner Kleinwort have been mandated to assist
the company in preparing the envisaged capital increase which
is currently intended to be structured as a fully underwritten
discounted rights offering.
Two
family offices, Leemaster Ltd., held by Dr. Otto Happel, a current
major shareholder of Conergy AG, and Athos Service GmbH, held
by the Strüngmann family, have committed to invest a volume of
€125 million in the capital increase for the subscription of new
shares. Conergy's other major shareholders, Hans-Martin Rüter,
Grazia Equity GmbH, 5r Private Equity KG and CEO Dieter Ammer,
have all indicated their willingness to support the capital increase,
and to partially exercise their subscription rights. Conergy will
use the proceeds of the capital increase primarily to pay back
the bridge financing of €240 million and to finance the planned
instalments for the repayment of the syndicated loan as well as
to finance the ongoing restructuring program and the planned growth
of the business in 2009 and 2010.
Conergy
will release results for the first six months of the financial
year 2008 on August 8.
In
addition, the Supervisory Board has appointed Dieter Ammer, the
co-founder of Conergy and current interim CEO, as CEO of the company
for the next two years, effective August 1, 2008. This appointment
reflects the progress made by the group under his leadership since
November 2007 and underpins Dieter Ammer’s strong commitment to
the company, thus providing management continuity.
Consequently,
Mr. Ammer will step down from the Supervisory Board. The Supervisory
Board will propose Mr. John Jetter as his successor to the annual
shareholders’ meeting. Jetter has more than 30 years of industry
experience and in investment banking. As former chief executive
officer of JPMorgan AG he will significantly support the future
strategy of Conergy.
Conergy
is continuing to implement its restructuring program to become
a
focused PV downstream player. The latest milestone on this path
was the strategic adjustment of the supply contract with MEMC,
since the focus of Conergy's new strategy is on supply of photovoltaic
solutions for end users and large-scale renewable energy projects.
With
the successfully amended solar wafer supply contract with MEMC,
Conergy has now significantly increased its flexibility for its
integrated solar energy factory Frankfurt (Oder), which could
lead to several possible outcomes, including a Joint Venture with
an experienced and financially strong partner.
With
its unique presence in the most important PV countries worldwide,
Conergy says the company is well positioned for the future. The
restructuring program will enable the company to compensate possible
variations in demand in individual countries and to choose to
sell its modules in the most attractive country and via the most
profitable distribution channel at any given time. The company
welcomes the expected additional module volumes in 2009 and 2010
in the PV market through the largely improved availability of
silicon. This provides further opportunities for the system integrator
and PV energy provider Conergy.
Further details about: Conergy
AG
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