Image: (APA)
At the general meeting of Ottakringer Drinks AG on Monday, the green light was given for the squeeze-out desired by the two large owner families, Wenckheim and Menz. “The cash compensation to the minority shareholders was calculated fairly and in line with the market, supported by two reports and corresponds to the price of the delisting offer from September 2023 examined and approved by the Takeover Commission,” the beverage company announced today, Tuesday. Criticism comes from the Investors’ Association (IVA).
In August of the previous year, the company, which, in addition to the beer of the same name, also owns “Vöslauer” mineral water and a beverage store, announced that it would be withdrawing from the stock exchange. There was talk of a “logical step”.
Costs and regulations
Only around three percent of the shares listed in the “standard market auction” segment were in free float. There is hardly any trading, but there are costs and regulatory effort. According to holding manager Christiane Wenckheim, the decision has no influence on the group’s majority or control structure. The cash compensation should amount to 85 euros per ordinary share and 70 euros per preference share, including the dividend for the 2023 financial year.
You can read more about this here: https://www.nachrichten.at/meinung/kolumnen/wielegenwirsan/rudel-um-das-16er-blech-aus-ottakring-an-der-boerse;art213880,3888137
Florian Beckermann, board member of the Investor Interest Association (IVA), criticized today after the general meeting that an attempt was being made to get rid of minority shareholders cheaply. “After an ill-timed delisting, the minority shareholders were now thrown out under equally poor conditions,” he told APA on Tuesday. The general meeting was emotional, with shareholders particularly interested in Vöslauer’s real estate assets and business development. The focus was also on the experts, whose expertise had been “picked apart”.
“Clarity and agility”
The traditional Viennese company emphasized in a press release on Tuesday: “The current takeover of all remaining shares via the resolution of the general meeting is the last step in an important decision that the owner families made in the interests of the company.” Board member Wenckheim emphasized that this had created the “clarity and agility” that the Ottakringer Group needed for the future. In 2022, the group had sales of 237.8 million euros with 790 employees. The profit before taxes amounted to two million euros.
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