Wuppertal, 29 February 2012 – SDAX-listed investment holding company GESCO AG has raised its share capital by approximately 10 % as part of a “small” capital increase and has issued 302,000 new registered shares. As part of the capital measure, the company increased its share capital from EUR 7,859,800 to EUR 8,645,000 and raised the number of shares from 3,023,000 to 3,325,000. All new shares are fully entitled to dividends for the 2011/2012 financial year (01.04.2011 - 31.03.2012). The capital increase took place within the scope of the authorised capital created by the 2007 Annual General Meeting under exclusion of shareholders’ subscription rights. GESCO will immediately request entry of the capital increase into the commercial register at Wuppertal district court as well as approval of the new shares.
The new shares were placed by Close Brothers Seydler Bank AG of Frankfurt, Germany among institutional investors at a price of EUR 65.00 per share. Demand for new shares exceeded supply by twice the expected level. With this capital increase, GESCO AG expands its basis of institutional investors in Germany and abroad.
The gross proceeds from the emission of approximately EUR 19.6 million are to be used to acquire industrial SMEs in accordance with the GESCO business model after deduction of costs. With the expanded capital, GESCO AG is able to use acquisition possibilities flexibly and maintain the current excellent balance sheet structure of GESCO AG and the GESCO Group.
GESCO Executive Board member Dr. Hans-Gert Mayrose about the capital increase: “Currently, we see the environment for further acquisitions positively. While it is generally not possible to give a detailed outlook, as transactions in the SME sector are often fraught with emotions on the seller’s side, we nevertheless see a good chance of continuing to expand our portfolio in 2012 following the acquisition of the Werkzeugbau Laichingen Group in December 2011. A strong balance sheet, large equity and free liquidity guarantee us the ability to act and buy as needed without having to depend on financing being approved. In the face of capital markets that continue to be volatile, the current ‘small’ capital increase is a highly efficient and calculable way to raise equity.”
Due to the increased number of shares following this capital measure, GESCO expects an earnings per share target figure pursuant to IFRS for the current financial year 2011/2012 of EUR 6.62 (previously EUR 7.28). Expectation of Group net income after minority interest of EUR 22 million remains unaffected. The company expects to use the lower number of shares from prior to the capital increase for calculating dividends due on old and new shares in order to avoid diluting dividends per share.