- Credit Suisse and Dresdner Kleinwort mandated to prepare the capital increase
- Major investors to invest at least € 125 million
- Dieter Ammer confirmed as CEO for the next 2 years
- Clear strategy to focus on downstream business model
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 invites 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 programme and the planned growth of the business in 2009 and 2010.
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 programme and is making good progress. Conergy will release results for the first six months of the financial year 2008 on August 8.
Conergy is restructuring the company as a focused PV Downstream-Player. The latest mile-stone 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 is well-positioned for the future. This enables 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.
About Conergy
Conergy AG is one of the leading solar enterprises in Europe and with over 70,000 solar systems installed also a global market leader in the field of solar system integration. Listed since 2005 on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, the group pursues a global growth strategy: it produces, installs and plans solar systems for its customers in more than 20 countries. The Conergy Group is represented by branch offices on four continents. |