Ad-hoc | 23 June 2000 20:27

Ad hoc-Service: FORIS AG english

Ad hoc-announcement edited and sent by DGAP. The sender is responsible for the contents of this announcement. —————————————————————————— FORIS AG, Berlin, Bonn, Munich, New York False Suspicions against FORIS AG The suspicion of prohibited insider trading and price fraud was raised yesterday against the Management Board members and Supervisory Board Chairman of FORIS AG. The accusations led to investigations at private residences and business premises. As was immediately stated by those involved, the matter concerned a false accusation. The Management Board members and Supervisory Board Chairman have meanwhile been able to present confirmations from their depositary banks. It is evident from these confirmations that no shares have been purchased or sold since the initial listing of the stock on the Neuer Markt trading segment. The affected parties thus did not gain any personal advantage from the ad-hoc notice of 12 January 2000 regarding the positive business development, as was alleged. According to today’s investigations at the bank which had allegedly purchased the 597,000 shares directly from the Management Board members and Supervisory Board Chairman, an error with serious consequences was discovered. The bank had suspended an erroneous client order and reported such to the Federal Office for Securities Trading. As has now become clear, the securities identification number was input as the number of shares. Immediately thereafter, the bank determined the error in the buy order, cancelled the order and sent a cancellation notice to the Federal Office. After reviewing the investigative files, FORIS AG will decide if it wants to proceed with its own legal claims. FORIS has here personally experienced just how quickly unjustified accusations can cause damage and how important the business of litigation financing can actually be. FORIS is assuming that the share will resume trading on Monday, and anticipates that its course will continue along positively in light of the rapid clarification of this matter. ——————————————————————————– Translation of the Ad-hoc Notices Dated Yesterday, 22nd June 2000 FORIS AG, Berlin, Bonn, Munich, New York The share price of FORIS stock was suspended from trading today. Based on a private complaint and investigations from the Federal Supervisory Office for Securities Trading, searches were conducted today at the residences of the Management Board members and Supervisory Board Chairman, and at the business premises of FORIS AG. The Management Board members and Supervisory Board Chairman are accused of having sold to a bank a total of 597,000 FORIS shares outside of official trading. This sale is supposed to have been related directly to the positive corporate figures published just before the ad-hoc notice of 12 January 2000. The Management Board members and Supervisory Board Chairman declare that none of this is true. The suspicion of price fraud is untenable. None of the parties purchased or sold FORIS AG shares on 13 January 2000 or has done so thereafter. Instead, all parties are still in possession of their share packages. This could recently be publicly verified through the minutes of the general shareholders’ meeting of FORIS AG notarized on 26 May 2000. The parties have also not traded any shares of FORIS AG in the interim period. The Management Board members and Supervisory Board Chairman immediately made all bank documents and securities deposit statements available in the interests of the most rapid clarification possible. Due to the holiday in North Rhine-Westphalia, the bank specified by the investigative authorities could not be questioned regarding its alleged share acquisition. Neither FORIS AG nor the Management Board or Supervisory Board Chairman have any business relations with this bank. FORIS AG currently assumes that the investigative authorities will rapidly succeed in determining whether and, if so, how many shares of FORIS AG were actually acquired by the bank. It should thereby also be easy to determine from whom the shares were acquired. FORIS AG is currently assuming that a mistake has been made – particularly regarding the alleged number of shares. A total of only 329,000 shares were issued within the framework of the IPO. The alleged trade would thus have encompassed the entire issue volume and free float of FORIS AG. In addition, the bank would be obligated towards FORIS AG and the Federal Supervisory Office to notify any holding in the company of more than 50%. This has likewise not occurred. FORIS AG will make every effort to bring about the fastest possible resumption of the share listing and to fully clarify the reasons for the criminal complaint. —————————————————————————– FORIS AG, Berlin, Bonn, Munich, New York Trading of FORIS Stock Suspended The Management Board of FORIS AG has requested Deutsche Boerse AG to suspend trading in the shares of FORIS AG tomorrow, 23 June 2000, at least until the Federal Office for Securities Trading and the bank allegedly involved confirm that the transaction concerning 597,000 shares of FORIS AG of which the Management Board members and the Supervisory Board Chairman have been accused did not take place. This measure is necessary to protect small shareholders, who most likely will only be able to achieve sufficient certainty through the anticipated confirmations that the accusations leveled against the company and its bodies are untenable. Due to today’s holiday and the fact that many employees of the Federal Office and the bank are on vacation between the holiday and the weekend, no statements could be obtained from them and will likely not be obtainable before midday tomorrow. The Management and Supervisory Boards have meanwhile been able to prove to the District Attorney’s Office by presenting their securities deposit statements that they have not bought or sold any shares of FORIS AG after the company’s IPO. End of Message