Ad-hoc | 2 June 2008 13:00
CropEnergies AG / Acquisition
Release of an Ad hoc announcement according to § 15 WpHG, transmitted by
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The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.
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CropEnergies AG acquires French bioethanol producer Ryssen Alcools S.A.S
Mannheim, 2 June 2008 – CropEnergies AG signed an agreement for the
acquisition of French alcohol producer Ryssen Alcools S.A.S in Paris on
2 June 2008. The seller is French sugar producer Saint Louis Sucre, which
is a member of the Südzucker Group. The acquisition of Ryssen Alcools S.A.S
is due to be completed at the end of June 2008. With this move CropEnergies
is expanding its activities in the important French market as planned and
will be increasing its capacities for the production of bioethanol for fuel
applications by another 100,000 m³ of bioethanol per year.
Ryssen Alcools was founded in 1829 as the family-owned firm Distilleries
Ryssen. The company has been part of the Südzucker subsidiary Saint Louis
Sucre since 1989 and was fully taken over in 2006. In the past 2007/08
financial year, which ended on 29 February, Ryssen Alcools achieved
revenues of over € 60 million with 49 employees. The activities of Ryssen
Alcools are divided into two segments: The dehydration or drying of raw
alcohol for the fuel sector was recently expanded to 100,000 m³ of
bioethanol per year. A large part of the quantities produced are for the
French market. Ryssen is also a specialist for the purification or
rectification of raw alcohol for traditional and technical applications.
The high-quality products are adapted flexibly to the wishes of customers
in the beverages and cosmetics industries as well as the pharmaceutical and
chemical industries. In this segment Ryssen has an annual capacity of
80,000 m³.
The Ryssen Alcools production facilities are situated in a favourable
logistical position in the port of Dunkirk. From there the refineries in
the ARA (Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp) area can be supplied quickly and at
low cost. The site also has facilities for loading and unloading rail and
road tankers. CropEnergies has already been operating a tank storage
facility with a capacity of 20,000 m³ in the immediate vicinity of Ryssen
Alcools since 2006.
The Ryssen acquisition is part of CropEnergies AG’s expansion strategy and
is an important step in strengthening its position as one of Europe’s
leading bioethanol producers. CropEnergies will be increasing its capacity
to over 700,000 m³ of bioethanol per year at the end of the 2008/09
financial year. At the same time the company is broadening its product
range to include high-grade alcohol for traditional and technical
applications (beverage alcohol, perfumes, cosmetics). With the integration
of Ryssen Alcools and the start-up of the facility in Wanze, Belgium, at
the end of 2008, CropEnergies is superbly positioned in the growing
European bioethanol market.
The CropEnergies AG
The CropEnergies Group – a member of the Südzucker Group – is an
established leading European producer of bioethanol for the fuel sector.
'Crop' stands for 'creative regeneration of power'. Energy in the form of
bioethanol is produced from renewable resources – grain and sugar beets.
With subsidiaries in Germany, France, and Belgium, CropEnergies has
established itself as a bioethanol producer in a growing market in just a
few years and it operates today’s largest bioethanol plant in Europe in
Zeitz, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. CropEnergies considers itself a pioneer on
the German bioethanol market and expands its market position in Europe. The
shares of CropEnergies AG (ISIN DE000A0LAUP1) are listed in the Prime
Standard at the Frankfurt Stock Exchange.
Contact:
Tobias Erfurth
Investor Relations
Tel.: +49 (621) 71 41 90-30
Fax: +49 (621) 71 41 90-03
ir@cropenergies.de
Nadine Dejung
Public Relations / Marketing
Tel.: +49 (621) 71 41 90-65
Fax: +49 (621) 71 41 90-04
presse@cropenergies.de
02.06.2008 Financial News transmitted by DGAP
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Language: English
Issuer: CropEnergies AG
Gottlieb-Daimler-Str. 12
68165 Mannheim
Deutschland
Phone: +49 (0)621-71 41 90 00
Fax: +49 (0)621-71 41 90 04
E-mail: info@cropenergies.de
Internet: www.cropenergies.de
ISIN: DE000A0LAUP1
WKN: A0LAUP
Listed: Regulierter Markt in Frankfurt (Prime Standard); Freiverkehr
in Berlin, Düsseldorf, Hamburg, München, Stuttgart
End of News DGAP News-Service
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