Ad-hoc | 21 December 2001 18:07

Sparta AG english

SPARTA AG disposes of interest in Deutsche Balaton AG Ad-hoc-announcement transmitted by DGAP. The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. ——————————————————————————– SPARTA AG disposes of interest in Deutsche Balaton AG Reduction of interest in Jeserich AG Restructuring complete Hamburg, December 21, 2001 SPARTA AG, Hamburg (German Securities Code Number (WKN) 724 520), has disposed of its approx. 42% interest in Deutsche Balaton AG via the stock exchange and to various investors at prices between EUR 2.70 and EUR 2.00. The parties involved have agreed not to disclose further details. By selling its interest in Deutsche Balaton AG and reducing its interest in Jeserich AG to 5%, SPARTA AG will fully repay its bank liabilities and complete its restructuring program. Following this transaction, SPARTA AG still has a total of 17 equity interests in its portfolio. The Managing Board end of ad-hoc-announcement (c)DGAP 21.12.2001 Issuer’s information/explanatory remarks concerning this ad-hoc-announcement: The exceptional situation on the stock markets in recent months has seen the shares of even the most prominent DAX and M-DAX companies trading at a substantial discount to book values. This, together with the financial position and results of operations of Deutsche Balaton AG and certain specific legal factors, meant that the interest in Deutsche Balaton AG could only be sold at a discount to its net asset value, despite the assistance of various banks and advisors in looking for potential investors. The interest in Deutsche Balaton AG, which was acquired in March 2000 through a public share swap offer, was sold for a number of reasons. Firstly, the sustained decline of the New Economy destroyed SPARTAs original rationale for the acquisition, namely to creation a New Economy value chain by linking the listed venture capital companies THE.internet.z AG and pre-IPO AG and the listed Internet investment bank at the time, net.IPO AG. In the period which followed, we were unable to build up a convincing equity story for Deutsche Balaton AG. In addition, Deutsche Balaton AGs growth was well short of SPARTA AGs expectations. Secondly, the repayment of the bank loans taken out in summer 2000 as bridging finance for the planned capital increase makes excellent sense in the context of cost minimization. The falling equity ratio and the massive interest charges of around EUR 2.2 million in 2001 made this repayment an increasingly high priority. With its restructuring program now complete, SPARTA AG will continue its investment banking activities in its core business of Corporate Finance and investments in listed second-tier stocks in Germany and Switzerland. In addition, SPARTA has established itself as the market leader in the acquisition and restructuring of listed German shell companies. Investor & Public Relations Dirk Hasselbring SPARTA AG Am Sandtorkai 75 20457 Hamburg Germany Tel.: +49 (0) 40 / 37 41 10 24 Fax: +49 (0) 40 / 37 41 10 10 http://www.sparta.de IR@sparta.de ——————————————————————————– WKN: 724520; ISIN: DE0007245201; Index: Listed: Amtlicher Handel in Frankfurt und Hamburg; Freiverkehr in Berlin, München, Stuttgart 211807 Dez 01