The major shareholder Pierer wants to become the sole owner.
(Photo: dpa)
Munich The Austrian entrepreneur Stefan Pierer wants to save the ailing car supplier Leoni and become its sole owner. Major shareholder Pierer is ready to provide Leoni with 150 million euros of fresh capital and to take over part of the bank debt so that the Nuremberg company can be debt-free, Leoni announced on Wednesday.
The bailout now goes even further than the capital cut that was announced in early February. In this case, the shareholders would have lost a large part of their stake. Now they should go away completely empty handed.
In order for the creditor banks to play along, it was necessary for an investor to put fresh capital into the company, according to industry circles. In addition, it was not certain whether the original solution would get the necessary majority. Therefore, the company stabilization and restructuring law should now be applied.
Rescue is not yet assured. According to information from the Handelsblatt from industry circles, there is still resistance from the federal government and the states, which had given a guarantee of 300 million euros in the corona pandemic.
The decisive figure in the rescue efforts is currently the lead restructuring expert Hans-Joachim Ziems, who had returned to the Leoni board. CEO Aldo Kamper had left the ailing auto supplier in the middle of the renovation to take over the chairmanship of AMS-Osram. In industry circles it is expected that a new Leoni CEO will be presented soon.
“Only Remaining Remediation Solution”
“From the point of view of the board of directors, this restructuring concept is the only remaining restructuring solution,” the statement said. Negotiations with Pierer and the creditors have progressed, and an agreement can be expected in the short term. Pierer, who owns the motorcycle brands KTM and Husqvarna, among others, has held a good 20 percent of Leoni so far.
According to the plan, the financing of the company with more than 90,000 employees would be secured until 2026. With an expansion course, Leoni had accumulated billions in debt over the years, which threatened to overwhelm the group. The previous attempt to rehabilitate Leoni failed at the end of last year because the Thai buyer for the cable division, Stark Corp, jumped out at the last minute. Leoni was missing more than 400 million euros, which should actually go to the banks.
The board of directors had already warned in February of a capital cut that would leave the shareholders empty-handed. After the announcement on Wednesday, the shares fell by 87 percent to 36 cents. Leoni should also disappear from the price list with the capital cut.
With agency material.
More: Bailout for ailing auto parts supplier – Painful capital cut at Leoni