Following the backing from leading global shareholder and voting rights consultant Institutional Shareholder Services Inc. (ISS), a second globally active shareholder, Glass Lewis & Co., has announced that it fully supports all the proposals made by the Board of Directors of SCHMOLZ+ BICKENBACH AG to the General Meeting on 26 June 2013. Glass Lewis recommends approval of the CHF 330 million capital increase proposed by the Board of Directors’ to strengthen the company’s capital base and also supports all the proposals of the Board of Directors relating to theelection and re-election of new and existing board members.
By contrast, Glass Lewis rejects the proposal to increase the capital by CHF 434 million made by Schmolz+Bickenbach Beteiligungs GmbH, which represents the interests of the founding shareholders and is linked to Renova, the investment vehicle of Russian investor Viktor Vekselberg. The reasons Glass Lewis gives for this stance are that this latter capital increase would be too large and would not be in shareholders’ interests. Glass Lewis also agrees with the Board’s proposals not to remove serving board member Marc Feiler, on the grounds that there is insufficient justification for the move and that it would not be in shareholders’ interests. At the same time, Glass Lewis joins the Board of Directors in opposing the election of Oliver Thum, Managing Director of the founding shareholders’ company, who has been proposed as a candidate by Schmolz+Bickenbach Beteiligungs GmbH. The Board of Directors of SCHMOLZ+BICKENBACH AG would like to remind all shareholders not yet entered in the Share Register to arrange registration by no later than 26 June 2013 so that they have a right to vote at the General Meeting. The Board recommends that all shareholders attend the General Meeting and vote in line with its proposals, or that they fill in the form sent to all registered shareholders and return it to the company so they can be represented at the General Meeting.
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.