Image: Pierer Industry
What the OÖ Nachrichten reported last week is now fixed. A package was agreed with banks, promissory note creditors and guarantors that provides for a complete capital cut for the shareholders, a partial waiver by the creditor banks and the takeover by the Austrian major shareholder Stefan Pierer, Leoni said on Monday. As CEO, Klaus Rinnerberger succeeds Aldo Kamper, who recently left Leoni.
According to the concept, Pierer will invest EUR 150 million in Leoni by way of a capital increase and will then be the sole shareholder. The other shareholders of the supplier of wiring systems go away empty-handed. Your share capital is set to zero and the Nuremberg company is delisted. According to the company, the step is also possible without a majority vote at a general meeting if a large part of the other creditors agree.
With the approval of banks, promissory note creditors and guarantors – including the states of Bavaria, Lower Saxony and North Rhine-Westphalia as well as the federal government – a sufficient majority is guaranteed to bring about a restructuring decision in accordance with the Corporate Stabilization and Restructuring Act.
According to the concept, only about half of the 1.5 billion euros in debt should remain with Leoni. The rest go to a company controlled by the new Leoni owner Stefan Pierer. The creditor banks are to participate in the success of the company with the help of a write-up instrument.
Leoni employs around 100,000 people worldwide and had sales of around EUR 5.1 billion last year. The renovation became necessary after a partial sale fell through. The sale of the cable division should have flushed 400 million euros into the coffers.
Leoni is now assuming a successful future. “The wiring system is the nervous system in the automobile,” said Hans-Joachim Ziems, board member for restructuring. The restructuring concept is suitable for getting the company back on its feet.
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