Sale of Fleischhauer Group
May 22, 2014
The Board of Directors of OIM Plc informs the market that a sales purchase agreement for the Fleischhauer Group has been signed with SPIE, a European leader in electric, mechanical and climatic engineering, as well as in energy and communications systems, a French group having substantial interests in Germany as well. The sales purchase agreement has been signed with one of SPIE’s German subsidiaries.
The total offer for the sale of the Fleischhauer Group amounts € 23.7 million at equity value including distributed dividends. An amount of approximately € 5 million will be held in escrow for verifications agreed upon between parties, to be released in three tranches, the last one after 24 months. The closing of the transaction is subject to the approval after review by the German Federal Cartel Office only.
The Board of Directors intends to pay out an interim dividend to its shareholders of € 0.25 per share as a token of appreciation towards the Company’s shareholders, many of which have been loyal to the Company for a very long time. A substantial part of the proceeds will be invested in Your Drinks AG on the basis of a royalty agreement.
The sale of the Fleischhauer Group has been pursued since a very good price could be made on one hand (approximately 11 times Net Profit) and since the Board of Directors has been prevented from raising capital through the stock market and the bond market on the other hand.
In the German market where the Fleischhauer Group is active, a consolidation is indeed taking place where similar companies acquire each other or are being acquired. Due to a lack of new funding, the Board of Directors has decided that only a divestment of the Fleischhauer Group is an option and that the timing of the transaction fits perfectly in the present high range of prices and multiples being paid.
The Board of Directors is very proud that, after saving the Fleischhauer group in 2005 from bankruptcy and the achievement of a successful turn-around, it has been sold at a total consideration of € 23.7 million. At the end of 2006 OIM’s total equity amounted to -/- € 9 million. In the following years through 2013 OIM’s total equity has grown to nearly + € 14 million. This increase in equity was mainly the result of improving profitability of the Fleischhauer Group. The sale of the Fleischhauer Group will realize a book profit of more than € 10 million as compared to the consolidated accounts of the Company on 31. December 2013.
The Board of Directors of the Company will inform the market on further developments going forward.