Ad-hoc | 16 August 2002 17:05

GESCO AG english

GESCO AG Ad-hoc-announcement transmitted by DGAP. The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. ——————————————————————————– Wuppertal, 16 August 2002 – The SMAX and SDAX listed holding company, GESCO AG, has a stake of 16% in Silicon Vision AG, Moritzburg near Dresden, a manufacturer of image sensor chips. As the Executive Board of Silicon Vision AG announced to its shareholders a few moments ago, today it has filed for insolvency at the competent district court. The Executive Board was forced to take this step since, following an adjustment of the business plan, the banking consortium (under the leadership of HypoVereinsbank) was no longer prepared to make available the originally promised additional funds to keep business operations running. The insolvency application was filed as a result of inability to pay – the company is not subject to excessive indebtedness. The Executive Board of Silicon Vision AG aims to develop a viable continuation concept, given that the global market opportunities for the products manufactured by the company continue to be evaluated positively. Irrespective of this, GESCO AG will write down its investment in full in the current financial year (2002/2003), which is likely to impact on Group net income by around EUR 2.2 million. GESCO AG will not be subject to any additional financial obligations other than the original cost of acquisition. The writedown will not affect the long-term operating earnings power of the GESCO Group, leaving the forecast EBIT of EUR 9.5 million unchanged. GESCO will continue to pursue its shareholder-friendly dividend policy. In June 2000, GESCO invested in Silicon Vision AG via its New Technologies segment. Its co-investors are Agfa Gevaert, Börsenmakler Schnigge and Julius Bär. The investment in Silicon Vision represents GESCO’s largest commitment in the New Technologies segment. Investor Relations, Oliver Vollbrecht Tel. ++ 49 2 02 2 48 20 – 18, Fax ++ 49 2 02 2 48 20 – 49 e-mail: gesco@gesco.de, website: http://www.gesco.de end of ad-hoc-announcement (c)DGAP 16.08.2002 ——————————————————————————– WKN: 587590; ISIN: DE0005875900; Index: SDax Listed: Amtlicher Markt in Düsseldorf, Frankfurt (SMAX); Freiverkehr in Berlin, Hamburg, München, Stuttgart 161705 Aug 02