SWOCTEM has published a voluntary public takeover offer to acquire the entire issued share capital of Klöckner & Co SE at a cash price of €9.75 per share. This has been acknowledged by the Management Board of Klöckner & Co SE. A statement by the Company on the Offer, on the Offer Price and the other terms and conditions, will be made at a later date.
SWOCTEM GmbH (shareholder Prof. Dr. E.h. Friedhelm Loh), is by far the largest shareholder of Klöckner & Co SE. Prof. Dr. E.h. Friedhelm Loh is a long-term oriented investor and long-standing member of the Supervisory Board who supports the company in the successful implementation of its strategy "Klöckner & Co 2025: Leveraging Strengths". This is welcomed by the Management Board of the company.
No majority interest sought
In the course of the announcement of the voluntary public takeover offer, SWOCTEM GmbH announced that it would like to increase its existing stake in Klöckner & Co SE to more than 30%. In this way, the company would like to gain more flexibility for future share purchases. Nevertheless, SWOCTEM GmbH declares that it does not intend to acquire a majority stake in Klöckner & Co SE; the company's stock exchange listing is to remain in place. In the view of the Management Board, a shareholding of SWOCTEM GmbH of more than 30% in the event of a successful offer will give the Company additional flexibility in the future, e.g. to carry out share buybacks.
The Management Board and the Supervisory Board are evaluating the situation and will inform the shareholders in their reasoned opinion on the assessment of the offer and its conditions in a timely manner after submission of the offer document. In the opinion of the Company, shareholders of Klöckner & Co SE should not take any action in connection with the takeover offer of SWOCTEM GmbH prior to an official statement.
