El fabricante alemán de componentes para automóviles Bosch y el grupo Eriksen han firmado un acuerdo para la compra del 39,43% de las acciones de la empresa Aleo Solar, para lo que será necesaria una inversión de 46 millones de euros, informó la empresa en un comunicado.
Bosch explicó que además de esta inversión en adquirir cerca del 40% de las acciones de Aleo Solar, la compañía tiene intención de realizar una Oferta Pública de Adquisición de Acciones (OPA) en la que ofrecerá 9 euros por cada título al resto de accionistas de la firma solar.
La multinacional alemana señaló que el precio ofrecido por las acciones de la empresa solar es un 43% superior al precio medio registrado por las acciones de la compañía durante los últimos tres meses.
No obstante, la corporación con sede en Stuttgart explicó que la totalidad de la operación, tanto la compra del 39,43% como el resto de las acciones de Aleo, está condicionada a la adquisición de una participación mínima del 75%.
Aleo Solar se dedica a la producción de módulos solares y en 2008 registró una facturación de 360 millones de euros. En la actualidad, la empresa cuenta con factorías en Prenzlau (Alemania) y en Barcelona.
Al mismo tiempo, el grupo Bosch tiene intención de adquirir a Eriksen Group más del 60% de las acciones de la empresa alemana Johanna Solar Technology, que trabaja en el desarrollo de módulos solares.
El vice presidente de Bosch, Siegfried Dais, explicó que con esta adquisición su compañía está impulsando su posición en el campo de las energías renovables fotovoltaicas. Junto con la dirección y los trabajadores de Aleo y de Johanna, y la combinación con el equipo de nuestra filial Ersol, vemos buenas oportunidades para expandirnos significativamente en este prometedor campo de la fotovoltaica", añadió.
Aleo Solar emplea a 735 personas y tiene tres plantas de producción, en Alemania, en España y en China con una capacidad anual de 250 MW en módulos fotovoltaicos. La compañía obtuvo unos ingresos en 2008 de unos 360,5 millones de euros.
Johanna, por su parte, fabrica módulos fotovoltaicos de tecnología de capa delgada que son distribuidos por Aleo. Emplea a 125 personas.
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Bosch plans to acquire majority stake in Aleo Solar AG
Expansion of photovoltaics activities
· Bosch signs agreements to purchase 39.43 percent of aleo solar AG
· Takeover offer made to all outstanding shareholders of aleo solar AG to purchase shares for 9.00 euros per share in cash
Stuttgart – Bosch and the Eriksen Group, including related parties and other investors, have signed agreements relating to the purchase of 39.43 percent of the shares in Aleo Solar AG, in Prenzlau and Oldenburg, Germany. The purchase price for this stock amounts to 46 million euros, equivalent to a price of 9.00 euros per aleo share. In addition, Bosch plans to make all outstanding aleo shareholders a voluntary public takeover offer, in which Bosch will also make all aleo shareholders a cash offer of 9.00 euros per share. The offer is thus 43 percent above the weighted average Xetra® price of the aleo share over the past three months. The entire transaction is conditional on Bosch holding at least 75 percent of aleo shares following the conclusion of the public offer. It is also subject to approval by the antitrust authorities.
aleo is an established brand name in the solar module market. It manufactures these modules on the basis of in-sourced mono- and polycrystalline solar cells. The modules are sold via a wide network of specialized dealers and installers to end-customers in Germany and other important European markets. In 2008, the company generated sales of roughly 360 million euros, and employed some 800 associates. This acquisition will give Bosch broad access to the market. In 2008, the technology and services company already acquired a solar cell manufacturer when it took over ersol Solar Energy AG in Erfurt, Germany. The administrative offices of aleo are located at its sales center in Oldenburg, Germany. Its manufacturing facilities are located in Prenzlau, Germany, and near Barcelona, Spain.
In addition, Bosch intends to acquire from the Eriksen Group and related investors more than 60 percent of the shares in Johanna Solar Technology GmbH, Brandenburg an der Havel, Germany, in which aleo also holds a roughly 17 percent stake. Johanna started developing solar modules based on thin-film CIGS cells in 2006, going into production at the end of 2008. These thin-film modules are marketed by aleo. Johanna employs 125 associates.
“With this acquisition, we are boosting our position in photovoltaics and renewable energies. Together with the management and associates of aleo and Johanna, and in combination with the team at our subsidiary ersol, we see good opportunities to expand significantly in this promising field,” said Dr. Siegfried Dais, deputy chairman of the Bosch board of management with responsibility for the Solar Energy division.
Apart from photovoltaics, the Bosch Group offers many other systems for exploiting renewable energies. Bosch Rexroth supplies gear and drive technology for wind turbines, as well as hydraulic actuators for solar thermal power stations, and develops drive concepts for the still young area of marine power generation. Bosch Thermotechnology is one of the leading suppliers of electric heat pumps and of solar collectors for hot-water generation.
For further information on the planned public takeover, see http://angebot.bosch.de.
The Bosch Group is a leading global supplier of technology and services. In the areas of automotive and industrial technology, consumer goods, and building technology, some 280,000 associates generated sales of 45.1 billion euros in fiscal 2008. The Bosch Group comprises Robert Bosch GmbH and its more than 300 subsidiaries and regional companies in over 60 countries. If its sales and service partners are included, then Bosch is represented in roughly 150 countries.
www.bosch-presse.de/TBWebDB/en-US/PressText.cfmBosch announces planned takeover offer for aleo solar AG
The Management Board of aleo solar AG announced that some of the key shareholders, which together hold almost 40 percent of aleo solar AG’s share capital, have signed agreements with Robert Bosch GmbH to sell their shares to the latter.
The selling shareholders comprise a group of investors around Marius Eriksen, the company’s initiator and co-founder, as well as a company closely associated with HANNOVER Finanz, a financial investor who has invested in aleo solar since 2005. This transaction is subject to the formal proviso that antitrust authorities approve it and that the minimum acquisition threshold of possibly 75 percent (which shall be fixed in the voluntary public takeover offer) is reached.
The purchase price is EUR 9.00 in cash per aleo share and thus 33 percent above the closing price of EUR 6.78 per share on Friday, July 31, 2009, and 43 percent above the weighted average price of one aleo share in XETRA® trading during the three months preceding publication of this transaction (EUR 6.31).
Bosch intends to submit a suitable voluntary public takeover offer to the shareholders of aleo solar AG with the aim of acquiring the latter’s remaining shares in connection with its acquisition of close to 40 percent of the shares of aleo solar AG.
The Management Board of aleo solar AG welcomes the proposed transaction and considers Bosch to be an excellent partner. Jakobus Smit, also co-founder and Chairman of aleo solar AG’s Management Board, emphasizes: "We consistently positioned ourselves as a premium brand and built up a strong, own sales organization. Hence we are pleased that in Bosch’s view, we are ideally suited for supplementing its current activities in photovoltaics, which are essentially rooted in its acquisition of ersol Solar Energy AG in 2008. As part of this network, we will successfully continue to move along the growth trajectory we launched in recent years."
The co-founder and chairman of the Supervisory Board of aleo solar AG Marius Eriksen adds: "This confirms the strategy we’ve been pursuing for years. Bosch’s decision to continue expanding the Prenzlau production site, as well as the Oldenburg location for both the German and international sales organization and marketing, under the present management constitutes a special recognition of the performance of all our employees and Management Board members. It also is excellent news for the cities of Prenzlau and Oldenburg."
Bosch simultaneously entered into an agreement with the shareholders of Johanna Solar Technology GmbH to acquire a majority stake in Johanna Solar Technology GmbH. aleo solar will no longer pursue its plan to purchase additional shares in Johanna Solar Technology GmbH if the voluntary public takeover offer and the acquisition agreements are executed. In aleo solar’s view, Bosch will be an excellent majority shareholder for Johanna Solar Technology GmbH. Bosch’s technological expertise will enable it to provide the support that Johanna Solar Technology GmbH needs in taking its sophisticated production processes to the level of optimized mass production.
The Bosch Group entered the photovoltaics industry by acquiring ersol Solar Energy AG in June 2008. It established a separate division – Solar Energy – for its photovoltaics business and has been consistently expanding it ever since. Acquiring aleo solar AG is the next logical step in its quest to position itself as an integrated provider. Besides photovoltaics, the Bosch Group also offers numerous additional systems for utilizing regenerative energies. Bosch Rexroth delivers gears and drive technology for wind turbines, as well as hydraulic actuators for solar thermal power stations, besides developing drive concepts for the emerging field of marine power generation. Bosch Thermotechnology is a leading supplier of electrical heat pumps and of solar collectors for hot-water generation.
www.aleo-solar.de/en-presse/bosch-announces-planned-takeover-offer-for-aleo-solar-ag.html
