Ad-hoc | 11 October 2006 09:36
Fresenius AG: Fresenius plans conversion of Fresenius AG into European Company (SE) and share split
Ad hoc announcement transmitted by DGAP – a company of EquityStory AG.
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.
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Fresenius plans conversion of Fresenius AG into European Company (SE)
and share split
The Management Board and Supervisory Board of Fresenius AG will propose to
its shareholders in an extraordinary general meeting on December 4, 2006,
to convert the Company’s legal form from a German AG (Aktiengesellschaft)
into a European Company (Societas Europaea – SE). This is a public
limited-liability company under European law. At the same time, the
shareholders will be asked to approve a share split that triples the number
of shares issued.
After the successful expansion of the Group’s international business and
the strong growth in recent years, the proposed conversion into a European
Company is a consistent step in the company’s development. The SE is a
modern legal form based on European law which will underline the Group’s
international focus and facilitate an open and international corporate
culture at Fresenius.
As a European Company, Fresenius remains committed to high-quality and
efficient corporate governance practices. The conversion does not have any
effect on the Company’s corporate structure and management organization.
The two-tier system consisting of Management Board and Supervisory Board
will remain unchanged. The Supervisory Board of Fresenius SE will continue
to have twelve members. However, employee representatives from various
European countries will be represented on the Supervisory Board. Currently,
only German employee representatives serve on the Company’s Supervisory
Board. The same size of the Supervisory Board ensures that the efficiency
of the Company’s corporate governance will be preserved. Without the
proposed conversion, Fresenius would have to increase the number of
Supervisory Board members to twenty due to the increased number of German
employees.
Fresenius will continue to have its registered office in Germany. The
conversion into an SE does not lead to a liquidation of the company or to
the formation of a new legal entity. The Company’s legal and economic
identity will be preserved. In addition, the conversion does not result in
any tax consequences for Fresenius. All shareholder’s stakes in Fresenius
will remain unchanged.
The proposed share split is intended to promote trading activity in
Fresenius shares and to increase the shares’ attractiveness for a broader
group of investors. Fresenius share prices have increased significantly in
recent years: Since the end of 2004, the share prices of the ordinary share
and the preference share have almost doubled. The preference share price is
currently one of the highest in Germany’s HDAX index.
The subscribed capital of Fresenius AG currently amounts to € 131.5
million*. It is divided into 25,688,455 ordinary shares and 25,688,455
preference shares. Through a conversion of capital reserves, the subscribed
capital is first increased to € 154.1 million. The subscribed capital is
then divided into 77,065,365 ordinary shares and 77,065,365 preference
shares. The new proportionate amount of the subscribed capital will be 1 €
per share. After the share split, every holder of an ordinary share will
hold three ordinary shares and every holder of a preference share will hold
three preference shares. As a result of the share split, the price level
will be reduced arithmetically without affecting the overall value for
shareholders.
* including the capital increase from authorised capital against
contribution in kind in the amount of € 903,884.80 in the course of the
acquisition of HUMAINE Kliniken GmbH, which yet has to be registered in the
commercial register
Fresenius Aktiengesellschaft
The Management Board
Bad Homburg v.d.H., October 11, 2006
(c)DGAP 11.10.2006
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Language: English
Issuer: Fresenius AG
Else-Kröner-Straße 1
61352 Bad Homburg v.d.H. Deutschland
Phone: +49 (0)6172 608-2485
Fax: +49 (0)6172 608-2488
E-mail: ir-fre@fresenius.de
WWW: www.fresenius.de
ISIN: DE0005785638, DE0005785604
WKN: 578563, 578560
Indices: MDAX
Listed: Amtlicher Markt in Frankfurt (General Standard), Düsseldorf,
München; Freiverkehr in Berlin-Bremen, Hamburg, Stuttgart
End of News DGAP News-Service
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