Gebuka AG rejects Renova’s unilateral termination of their shareholders’ Agreement Venetos Holding AG, Zurich, a company belonging to the Renova Group, has informed SCHMOLZ+BICKENBACH AG that it has acquired a stake totalling 20.46% in SCHMOLZ+BICKENBACH AG from various companies controlled by the founding families of Schmolz+Bickenbach. At the same time Venetos has concluded a shareholders’ agreement with the founding families and announced that Venetos and the founding families are acting as a group as defined in the Stock Exchange Act.
SCHMOLZ+BICKENBACH AG has also been informed today that Venetos has acquired a further 4.83% of the capital from the founding families. This 4.83% is tied into a shareholders’ agreement with Gebuka AG. Gebuka AG has rejected the unilateral termination of this agreement by the founding families, which was also announced today. Gebuka AG maintains that the agreement does not include a termination clause that can be invoked now. Gebuka AG is adhering to the shareholders’ agreement and the rights it has under this agreement, and it will assert these rights.
About SCHMOLZ+BICKENBACH
SCHMOLZ+BICKENBACH was established in 1919 in Dusseldorf by Arthur Schmolz and Oswald Bickenbach. Since 1937 the company bearing their names has been a synonym for tradition in steel. Since the acquisition of the former Swiss Steel AG in 2003, SCHMOLZ+BICKENBACH has been listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange (STLN). Today, the SCHMOLZ+BICKENBACH Group is one of the world’s largest manufacturers, processors and distributors of special-steel long products. The Group has a total of approximately 10 000 employees. SCHMOLZ+BICKENBACH is one of the leading producers of stainless long steels as well as tool steels, and is one of the ten largest companies for alloy and high-alloy special and engineering steels.